Never Shall We Die
by KillTheWhelp
Summary: The daughter of two notorious pirates finds herself on an adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow. On their journey she falls in love with none other than Hector Barbossa.
1. Prologue

** "Ash…she's beautiful,"** Captain Liam Lynch murmured, lifting up the crying baby in his big hands.

"She looks like her father," his wife, Aislinn, said feebly. She reached out a hand and placed it on Liam's stomach.

Liam chuckled and returned his daughter to Aislinn. "Let's hope not. She will be a vision—not unlike her mother." Liam stroked his wife's face and stood up from the chair he had been occupying. "What shall we name her?"

"After me mother," Aislinn decided, cradling the baby to her chest.

"Keegan," Liam nodded. "So it shall be."

* * *

Hector Barbossa sat at a table in the _Drunken Lady_. He took a swig of rum from his mug and sighed impatiently, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

From underneath the brim of his big, ragged black hat, Barbossa scanned the tavern. She said he would meet him at their "old place" and she was late. Barbossa was preparing the tongue-lashing he was to unleash on her when the front door opened.

As soon as he saw her his mouth went dry, the same way it always used to.

Her brown hair had grown down to her waist. From nearly a lifetime out on the sea, some strands had been bleached from the sun. Beneath her pink forehead shone two eyes, as green as ever. They locked on Barbossa and she drew nearer to him. Somehow, even through age, she had become more beautiful than he remembered.

Before Barbossa even realized what he was doing, he had risen to his feet. As far as he knew, the Irishwoman was not a sorceress, but she had a somewhat magical effect on him.

"Hector," she said in her brogue, a familiar sly grin tugging at the corner of her thin lips.

"Aislinn," he bowed.

"Still as well-mannered as ever, but yeh know there's no need to show-off in front of me," Aislinn told him as she sat down at the table. "No need to treat me like a lady."

"Ah, but yer husband seems to've dressed ye like one," Hector said poisonously, tipping his head toward the dress she was wearing.

Aislinn pursed her lips and closed her eyes for a moment. "How goes the _Cobra_?"

"Sailing smoothly, she is."

"And the crew?"

"Loyal. Some a bit _too_ loyal."

Pintel and Ragetti, two members of Barbossa's crew, had been watching over the meeting from the bar nearby. They had both leaned close, but pretended not to be listening. It wasn't out of nosiness, but so as to be right there if their captain needed protecting.

Aislinn turned to see who Barbossa was scowling at. She grinned as the portly, balding one and the gangly one sat straight up and then started arguing in hushed tones.

"Nothing wrong with that," she shrugged, looking back at Barbossa. "Could save yer life someday."

"Heavens forbid those two blundering idiots be the ones to save me from Davy Jones' Locker," Barbossa rolled his eyes.

"I see yeh've acquired a new one of those—what was it yeh always used to call 'em? _Beauty marks_?" Aislinn pointed to the fresh scar below his eye. The smile on her face grew ever wider, and it annoyed Barbossa. How dare she be happy remembering their inside jokes while he could barely bring himself to even think of her name?

"I haven't got all night to be docked at Shipwreck Cove. What be your business with me?" he snapped.

Aislinn quirked an eyebrow and the smile slowly disappeared. "Liam and I were recently granted a child."

Barbossa sighed and stood up.

"Hector," she quickly reached out and grabbed his weathered hand.

He glared, then sat back down and folded his arms across his chest. "Make this worth my while, Aislinn."

"We had a daughter."

"And what good would that do me, hmm?"

"Liam and I spoke the other night. 'E was against it at first, but I was eventually able to talk 'im into it. If yeh can remember, I can be quite persuasive..."

Barbossa's ears started getting hot.

"We'd like to propose a betrothal," Aislinn told him, "for when she grows a bit older."

He was furious. "Is this yer way o' tryin' to make up for what yeh did to me?"

"Hector, please—"

"I don't much believe in curses, _Mrs. Lynch_, but a pox be placed on you and yer family," Barbossa stood up and hobbled back to his ship, fuming the whole way.

How dare she? He'd be damned if he had anything to do with any of the Lynches after that night.

**Twenty-Four Years Later**

"Next time, it's the pigsty for ya!"

I dragged Gibbs out of the _Faithful Bride_ behind me. The aged sea salt fell against me as I pulled him through the door. He was heavy leaning against me, but I could manage getting him off the front steps and onto the ground.

"Oh, Gibbs, yeh're bleeding," I frowned at the gash on his forehead.

"Bah! You should see the other'un!" he drunkenly laughed and then fell on his haunches, taking me down with him.

I sighed, getting up. "Here," I held out my hands and he grabbed them. I dug the heels of my boots into the earth and struggled to pull him up. "Come on, Gibbs!"

"He looks content where he is. Might as well leave him be."

I turned my head and grinned when I saw the familiar face behind me. I let go of Gibbs' hands and rubbed mine together to try and get some grime off them.

"Well, if it isn't _Captain_ Jack Sparrow," I said to the handsome pirate before me.

"Good evening, fair Keegan," Jack grabbed my hand and kissed each knuckle individually. "Might I buy you a drink?"

"Feelin' gen'rous?" Gibbs hiccupped from the ground.

"Only if you were to suddenly sprout two ample breasts and have the visage of angels such as your comrade, Lynch," Jack said. He grimaced as he scrutinized Gibbs for a moment. "And you have neither of those attributes."

"Help me get 'im to bed?" I cocked my head towards my companion on the ground.

"Only on the condition that you join me at the _Faithful Bride_ and listen to a young sea salt's stories and propositions. Do we have an accord?" Jack extended his right hand, dripping with rings.

"Aye," I nodded as I shook it.

Jack and I each grabbed an arm and hoisted Gibbs off the ground. We took him back to the bungalow that Gibbs and I shared and laid him on his camp bed. I washed his wound and placed a wooden bucket by his side and then left with the captain.

* * *

"So, what do I get to hear about this time? Mermaids? The Fountain of Youth?" I asked as soon as Jack came back with two pewter tankards.

Jack and I had a tradition ever since we first met. It started out with him telling me stories about my parents, then once those ran out, as my parents were killed when I was about four, I was allowed to hear about some of his own exploits: Getting a magical compass from some lady named Tia Dalma, making a deal with Davy Jones, and becoming the chief of a cannibalistic tribe on the Isla de Pelegosto. He would always try to get me drunk enough to consider taking up a room with him, but either Gibbs was there to safely take me home or I would just stop drinking at some point.

It's not that I didn't find him attractive—believe me, in a place like Tortuga, handsome men are far and few between. I just know that I would catch feelings and he would break my heart.

"No, no, no," Jack waved his hands erratically. "_Much_ better."

I leaned over the table and awaited his response.

"Sea turtles."

"_Sea turtles_?"

"Aye. Sea turtles."

"This better be good," I leaned back and took a swig of my rum.

And so Jack began his story of mutiny and Aztec gold. His crew had wanted to take eight hundred and eighty-two pieces of treasure that had belonged to Hérnan Cortés. There had been rumors of a curse being placed on the coins, but before Jack had been able to find out from experience, his first mate had riled up most of the crew and convinced them to maroon Jack on an island with naught but a pistol with only one shot.

"…And so said sea turtles had finally become acquainted with my hairy ankles and me. They allowed me to use me own hair to rope them together and soon we were on our merry way off the island," Jack concluded with a drink from his tankard.

I quirked an eyebrow. "And what of the pistol? Didja shoot the kraken with it?"

"Ah, Miss Keegan, there you would be wrong. No, the pistol," Jack reached down and pulled out the actual gun, placing it on the tabletop, "is still with me—waiting for the fine day sweet _Hector_ and I reunite."

"A worthy cause for one shot," I nodded, clapping my hands together softly. "Now, what _really_ happened?"

Jack looked almost offended that I didn't believe him. But my unrelenting gaze got him to answer my question. "All of it…except for the sea turtles."

"Except for the sea turtles," I repeated with a grin.

"I was not left alone on the island for long when a group of rumrunners came by. They'd had a cache on the island. I befriended them, they shared their rum, good times for all. I was able to barter passage with them and they brought me back," he explained. "But the sea turtles is the official yarn we're going with, savvy?"

"Aye-aye, Captain," I saluted.

"Now, my dear Lynch," Jack leaned in as if to tell me a secret. "If I am not remiss, I mentioned a proposition earlier. As far as I remember, it was part of our accord."

"G'wan," I gestured for him to continue.

"What say you we make way for a dish best served cold?" he said slowly.

I furrowed my brow. "Revenge?"

"Precisely."

"And what will I get out of it?"

"Ten percent of me plunder."

"'Oo taught yeh to bargain?"

"Twenty."

"Twenty-five and me own cabin's the absolute least I can do"

"Twenty and the cabin…and I'll let you steer the ship…sometimes."

I sighed, pretending to consider this even though I would have done it for free. I desperately needed to get out of Tortuga and do something. I'd been on a few ships in my day, but most of the time I'd be "left behind" at this port all because I was a woman.

I hated the superstition of women being unlucky onboard.

"You've got yourself a deal," I said, putting my hand out.

"Excellent. We leave tomorrow."


	2. D'Artagnan

** "Er…Jack?" I **reached out and tapped his shoulder.

"Eh?" he turned, then noticed the water seeping into the boat we were in. His dark eyes grew wider. "Not good."

I took the bucket tied to the side of the boat and started bailing the water out. "Some of the nails have been taken out," I said, pointing to a few holes.

"Scarlett," Jack growled under his breath.

Apparently, Jack had fooled two prostitutes into thinking he would wed each of them, while really selling them to an auctioneer. Scarlett must have taken out the nails in case he got cold feet.

We kept sailing, though. Jack and I switched off bailing out the tiny boat he'd taken from Anamaria, a feisty pirate whom I knew quite well. There'd be hell to pay when she reconnected with Jack.

The two of us stood on the mast as Port Royal came into view. I started to ready myself when Jack jumped down to do a bit more bailing. I was to portray a young, mute boy while we were there. My long brown hair was tied back in a braid, I had kohl under my eyes, dirt on my face, and my chest was bound. I wore my usual garb—a white poet shirt and a pair of dark gray breeches with black boots with a dark red sash tied around my waist—only I didn't wear my usual corset over the shirt, obviously. That would have been a dead giveaway.

We passed a few corpses strung up near a sign that said "PIRATES YE BE WARNED". If I'd been wearing a hat I would have taken it off, like Jack, but instead I just bowed my head to respect the dead. Rumor has it one of those bodies was that of Calico Jack.

The boat kept sinking as we sailed into the harbor. The men working around us gave us incredulous stares. By this point Jack and I both had to stand on the mast again—the bucket was floating in the water.

The boat finally had run aground at the edge of a dock. Jack stuck one foot out and put it on the planks, not breaking his stride. I followed after him, past the harbormaster and his young assistant.

"Wha—uh—'old up there, you!"

Jack and I turned around.

"It's a _shilling_ to tie up your boat at the dock," the harbormaster told us as we stepped toward him.

We glanced at the top of the mast sticking pathetically out of the water.

"And I shall need to know your name," he continued.

Jack pulled out a few coins from his pocket. "What do you say to three shillings…" he said as he placed them on the harbormaster's log, "…and we forget the name?"

The harbormaster glanced at Jack, as did his assistant. I smirked.

"Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith."

Jack bowed his head and held out his hands, pressed together as though he was praying, toward the man. The harbormaster and his boy turned the other way and we walked over to the desk at the end of the dock. Jack grabbed the coin purse sitting there, jingled it, pocketed it, and so we were on our way.

We ambled through the town of Port Royal over to another dock by the fort. As we leaned against a palm tree, Jack muttered something to me.

"I want _that_ one."

* * *

We meandered onto the dock with ease, as everyone important seemed to be at the fort. Then we came across two guards—Murtogg and Mullroy. Murtogg reminded me a bit of a rodent while Mullroy had the sad eyes of a basset hound.

The two were sitting leisurely, only springing up when Jack and I walked past. They hurried ahead of us and stood in our path, bayonets on display.

"This dock is off-limits to civilians," said Murtogg in a very official-sounding voice.

I smirked, imagining the scenario that must have happened earlier: These two heading for the fort, but then one of their superiors stops them and tells them condescendingly to make sure that the dock stayed off-limits to civilians.

"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know," Jack apologized. "If I see one, I shall inform you immediately." Jack gave me a sidelong glance. "He would tell if he could, however, poor…D'Artagnan…finds himself incapable of speech."

_D'Artagnan?_ I thought to myself. _Of all the names he could have come up with…_

Without another word, Jack attempted to move on, but Murtogg and Mullroy blocked him again.

"Apparently there's some sort of high-toned and fancy to-do up at the fort, eh? How could it be two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?" Jack continued.

"Someone has to make sure this dock stays off-limits to civilians," Murtogg said without an ounce of confidence.

I smiled to myself, knowing my scenario was most likely true.

"It's a fine goal, to be sure. But it seems to me that a," Jack stepped to his left, nearly bowling me over in the process (and the guards followed), "a ship like _that_," Jack gestured to the ship anchored deeper out in the water, "makes this one here a bit superfluous, really."

Murtogg nodded. "Oh, the _Dauntless_ is the power in these waters, true enough. But there's no ship as can match the _Interceptor_ for speed."

Jack touched the spot below his lower lip. "I've heard of one. It's supposed to be very fast. Nigh uncatchable." He paused. "The _Black Pearl_."

"Well, there's no _real_ ship as can match the _Interceptor_," Mullroy chortled, not giving Jack the reaction he expected.

"_Black Pearl_ _is_ a real ship," Murtogg said.

"No. No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. I've seen it."

"You've seen it?"

"Yes."

Jack and I locked eyes and it took all I had not to giggle at his disappointed countenance.

"You haven't seen it," Mullroy sneered.

"Yes, I have," said Murtogg insistently.

"You've seen a ship…with black sails…that's crewed by the damned…and captained by a man…_so evil_…that Hell itself…_spat_ him back out?"

"No."

"No."

"But I _have_ seen a ship with black sails."

"_Oh_," Mullroy began sarcastically. "And no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out—"

Jack tugged on my elbow and we gingerly started side-stepping over to the gangplank to get onto the _Interceptor_.

"Go pick out your cabin, D'Artagnan, then we shall set off to find a crew," Jack said, getting behind the helm. All I did was lean against the railing because I knew we weren't leaving Port Royal just yet.

I thought about Jack's convoluted way of beginning our adventure. He found me at Tortuga, stole Anamaria's boat—excuse me, _borrowed it with every intention of bringing it back_—took me with him to Port Royal in search of a bigger boat, and then we were going to go back to Tortuga to find a crew and cast off to wherever the bloody _Pearl_ was.

Jack's thought process always gave me a headache.

"'Ey! You!" Murtogg shrieked, stumbling onto the ship. He pointed his bayonet at Jack.

"You don't have permission to be aboard there, mates," Mullroy added, following his companion and pointing his own bayonet at me.

"I'm sorry," Jack said immediately. "It's just, it's such a pretty boat—ship—and D'Artagnan had one look and couldn't help himself. Got an eye for fine things, he does."

"What's your name?" Murtogg demanded.

"Smith. Or Smithy, if you like?"

"And what's your purpose in Port Royal, _Mr. Smith_?" Mullroy said in a tone that clearly conveyed how much he didn't believe the alias. He looked away from me and lowered his gun.

I slowly started to reach towards my left hip, where the sheath for my cutlass normally sat, but then I remembered that my weapons were at my bungalow and I gulped. An asset in this situation, I was not.

"Yeah, and no lies," Murtogg said.

"Well, then, I confess," Jack started to walk around the helm, causing Mullroy to raise his bayonet again. Jack continued to step forward, making the two guards step back slowly. Jack grabbed a line near where I stood. "It is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer my weaselly black guts out."

The guards stared at him.

"I said no lies," Murtogg finally uttered.

"I think he's telling the truth," Mullroy murmured to his partner.

"If 'e were telling the truth, 'e wouldn't 'ave told us."

"Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't _believe_ the truth even if he told it to you," Jack suggested.

Murtogg began to smile, then he realized what Jack just did.

* * *

"…And then they made me their chief."

_Splash!_

Jack had been telling the two incompetent redcoats the Pelegostos story when a young woman fell from the fort into the water. And I could've sworn I heard someone yell out, "ELIZABEEETH!"

We all gathered at the railing.

"Will you be saving her, then?" Jack asked Mullroy.

"I can't swim!" he replied.

Jack turned to ask Murtogg, who shook his head.

"Pride of the King's Navy, you are," he said, knowing I wouldn't be strong enough to carry a woman my size and swim her to the surface. Jack took off his precious hat and stuffed it into Mullroy's arms. He began removing his effects and handing them to the guards who surrounded him. "Do not lose these."

Jack got up onto the railing and did a graceful swan dive into the blue water.

"What a nutter," Mullroy muttered to himself.

I shrugged next to him.

Suddenly, a pulse throbbed in the ocean. The guards exchanged glances.

"What was that?" Murtogg asked. His companion shook his head a little.

The sky grew a shade darker and the wind picked up. The British flag curled around on itself. The two guards held onto their hats.

Finally, Jack popped up from the water, an unconscious woman over his shoulder. He tried to take a few strokes and went back down. I held my breath and slowly started to back up. I headed down the gangplank and ran as fast as I could.

While I was amongst the trees, I could hear troops marching toward the dock. I crouched behind the trunk of one thick palm tree and waited until they disappeared. I hurried to the town and hid in an alleyway, breathing deeply from this exertion.

You may think me a coward, but I have an explanation. Before we arrived in Port Royal, Jack and I came up with a plan. Since I would be weaponless on this leg of the journey, I would run off and Jack would find me later. We hadn't exactly worked out all the details, but something inside of me felt like it would work out in the end.

Once I had caught my breath, I started to walk through the town, pretending like I actually lived there. I was largely ignored, thankfully, and soon I happened upon J. Brown's blacksmith building. I leaned my ear against the door and heard silence. I opened the door carefully and entered.

Inside, it was like a barn. There was even a mule hitched up to some sort of rotating mechanism. I walked past a seesaw and found what I assumed was Mr. Brown, passed out in his chair. He was a middle-aged man with reddish-brown hair on both his head and his ruddy face.

I went over to the back of the room, finding a good place to hide. As I sat down and made myself comfortable, I started wondering if or how Jack would find me…

But that question was answered when the door opened once again.

I peered around the wall I was hiding behind and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Jack coming in. He was clapped in irons, but still alive, which was good. Not seeing me, he came towards an anvil and placed his favorite hat on it and grabbed a hammer. I was about to call out to him when there was a muted thud.

We both turned toward the noise and realized that Mr. Brown had just dropped his bottle. Jack walked over to the snoring man and readied the hammer. He prodded the man on the chest, but he just kept snoring. Then Jack looked at him, got ready to move on, then turned around and shouted.

"WHOA!"

He braced himself for Brown to wake, but it never happened. So, Jack attempted to get out of his irons.

I could've helped him, but it was just so entertaining to watch. He was trying to use the hammer on the anvil to get them off, but when that didn't work, he erratically tried to pull them apart. Then he noticed the gears in the contraption the mule was attached to. He found some hot tool still in the forge and used it to get the mule to move. Attaching the chain to part of the gear, he walked around with the gear as it turned, and waited for the chains to break. At that point, I had stood up and walked over, raising my eyebrows. Finally, he turned and saw me.

"D'Artagnan! You've been here the whole bloody time?" he said, after jumping.

Since he continued to call me D'Artagnan, I pressed the side of my finger to my mouth to indicate that he told me I was supposed to be a mute.

Jack looked as though he was about to admonish me, but then the door started to open. I grabbed his elbow and took off for my hiding spot.


	3. Outta My Way, Scum

** It was a **very handsome young man who entered Brown's building. He had his dark brown hair tied up behind his head and a little facial hair on his fair skin. He was dressed elegantly and I wondered where he had been to have a need to look like that.

The young man hurried to stop the mule, which was still going around a circle to make the mechanism turn. Tenderly, he stroked its face and it let out a soft bray. He straightened up and took off his coat as he walked forward, stopping in front of Mr. Brown.

"Right where I left you," he muttered. Then he walked toward the anvil Jack was using and stopped again, throwing his coat off to the side. "Not where I left _you_."

Beside me, Jack grimaced. I figured he'd left the hammer on the anvil and didn't put it back where it had originally been. I saw Jack starting to draw his sword. He must have remembered that he left his hat nearby and was readying himself for a confrontation.

Jack rose from his crouched position and slapped the flat end of his blade on the back of the man's hand. The young man looked at him and Jack started to walk closer.

"You're the one they're hunting," the young man said. "The pirate." His words were like venom.

"You seem somewhat familiar. Have I threatened you before?" Jack asked.

"I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates."

"Ah. Well, then it'd be a shame to put a black mark on your record. So if you'll excuse me…" Jack turned around to grab his hat.

I wanted to shout for him to be careful as the young man grabbed a spare sword hanging from the mule contraption. But first of all, that would blow my cover and I planned to escape through the back entrance behind me once Jack was out of the building. Secondly, Jack turned around, hatless, and brandished his sword, walking back towards the other.

"Do you think this wise, boy?" he asked. "Crossing blades with a pirate?"

The young man held his sword higher, not relenting.

"You threatened Miss Swann," he said softly.

_Miss Swann?_

The sound of Jack scraping his sword against the young man's gave me gooseflesh.

"Only a little," he replied.

I couldn't see much of it, but the clinking of the swords indicated that they were dueling. Then there was the sound of swishing through the air. But shortly afterward, the clinking recommenced. And finally, they were back towards my end.

"You know what you're doing. I'll give you that. Excellent form," Jack said, tapping his sword against the young man's. "But how's your footwork? If I step here…" _Clink, clink, clink, clink!_ "Very good. And now I step again." Another chilling scrape and more clinks. "Ta."

It sounded like Jack sheathed his sword once again and was making his way to the front entrance. But I looked over at the young man and covered my mouth when he threw his sword at the door, narrowly missing Jack's head.

Jack turned his head and gave the young man a look, then stopped the wobbling sword and tried to pull it out, to no avail. I had to bite my knuckle to keep from laughing because he was making a complete fool out of himself. But eventually, he gave up and faced the young man.

"That is a wonderful trick," he said, stepping onto the seesaw, now out of my view. "Except, once again, you are between me and my way out. And now," he unsheathed his sword, "you have no weapon."

And from the sound of it, the young man grabbed something from out of the forge, making the mule start walking around again. It was at this point that I just decided I couldn't watch anymore.

Whenever Jack hit the young man's blade, it made a sizzling sound and I winced, imagining getting cut by that. But soon after, the sizzling stopped and a new sword was used.

"Who makes all these?" Jack asked in a frustrated tone before fighting again.

"I do," the young man said.

More clinking occurred.

"And I practice with them..."

Clinks galore.

"…three hours a day."

"You need to find yourself a girl, mate," Jack told him. This time, there was a longer space between fighting and speaking. "Or, perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one and are otherwise incapable of _wooing _said strumpet … You're not a eunuch, are you?"

"I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate…I can _kill_ it!"

The fighting continued and I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think it was something involving the seesaw… Curious when I couldn't hear anymore footsteps, I looked and saw that they were not on the ground. I gazed upward and saw them up on the beams and went back to covering my eyes.

But when I heard what sounded like a bag full of powder being emptied, I looked and saw them on the ground once again. Jack kicked the young man's sword away and then pulled out his gun, facing him. Once the young man, covered in some sort of red substance, wiped his eyes, he held up his sword, but saw Jack's new weapon.

"You cheated," he said.

"Pirate."

I hoped this would all be over soon, but then the sound of many people trying to ram the door down came. Jack, hoping to use my exit, looked over towards me and the young man blocked him like our friends Murtogg and Mullroy.

"Move away," Jack demanded.

"No," the young man protested.

"_Please_ move."

"No! I cannot just step aside and let you escape."

Jack cocked his gun, which still only had one bullet in it.

"This shot is not meant for you," he said.

Just then, Mr. Brown had walked up behind Jack and smashed his bottle against my companion's head. I gaped and started to crabwalk to the exit, hoping not to get caught. I took one look at Jack's unconscious body on the ground, curled my hand around the doorknob as quietly as I could, and opened the door just as the soldiers entered the building. I crawled out and hid in another alleyway.

* * *

Having spent the rest of the day cramped behind a crate, I was hoping that I would figure out a way to break Jack free. I had fallen asleep in the process and was jerked awake by the sound of cannons.

The sky was dark as I uncurled myself from the ball I was in the shape of. My limbs were sore, but that didn't stop me from climbing over said crate and hurrying out of the alleyway.

The townsfolk were running amok, or flying through the air as the cannons continued to go off. But from what ship?

"MOOOOMMMYYY!"

I turned to my right and saw a young boy with blonde hair screaming at the top of his lungs. A cannonball hit a tower above him and I ran to scoop the boy up in the arms before it was too late. The boy wailed as I carried him to safety and looked around for his mother.

"THAT'S MY SON!" a woman screeched.

I handed her the boy and tried to make my way towards the fort. I was momentarily distracted by the sound of several men uttering "yarr"s and chanting. I stopped and looked toward the beach. Out of the smoke came several longboats, each filled to capacity with pirates.

"ARE YEH DAFT, BOY? RUN!"

I was hit in the shoulder by an older man, who scurried off, and I followed his advice. I tried to dodge these pirates as best I could. There were many strange characters to avoid. In particular was armed with several hand grenades and a burning beard. He chased a woman in her nightgown and I almost crossed their path.

Then I saw the young man from the blacksmith's building. He had several weapons and a clear shot. He threw an axe at the pirate and hit him square in the back. The pirate screamed and fell to the ground.

I caught the young man's eye and he stepped over to me.

"Are you armed?" he asked. I shook my head. The young man handed me one of his axes. "Follow me."

He ran ahead and pulled the axe out of the pirate's back. He started to fight with another pirate and I stayed behind him at a distance. One came up to me and I started swinging until I sliced across his neck and he fell to the ground.

The young man had found a new enemy, one with a grappling hook. They fought near a shop window, while a man with a mallet targeted me. He had knocked the axe out of my hand and sent me to my haunches, but before he could deliver a blow to my head, we both turned to see our respective companions.

The pirate had his hook around the young man's neck and had pulled him in close.

"Say goodbye," he growled.

Then a cannonball hit the shop sign above them and dislodged it. The young man ducked out of the hook and stepped back watching as the sign hit the pirate and sent him crashing through the shop window.

"Goodbye," the young man said.

His dark eyes turned to me and he saw my adversary raising his mallet high above his head. The young man came over and whacked the pirate in the head, saving me. I nodded my thanks and the young man helped me to my feet.

We had barely moved when the young man stopped to watch what was happening a small distance away from us. A few pirates were rushing a young lady towards the beach. She turned and saw the young man. It looked as though she said his name, but I couldn't hear.

"Cah'mon!" hollered the stout, balding, bearded one.

"Elizabeth," the young man said. He began to venture off when a familiar figure cut him off.

"Hello," the pirate with the burning beard said as he waved.

I wondered how he had survived. As did the young man, who cocked his head slightly.

The pirate had a grenade in his hand, but there was another at the young man's feet. Its fuse was running short and I was about to pull him back, but it never went off. The pirate was confused.

"Outta my way, scum!" shouted a voice behind me.

Something hit the back of my head. And my world went dark.

* * *

I opened my eyes and cringed away from the sunlight. Something heavy was on my middle and I looked to see it was the young man's head. He had fallen unconscious as well, and must have landed backwards onto me, who had landed horizontally. I gently lifted his head and put it on the ground.

I sat up and inwardly groaned. My head was throbbing and my middle hurt from where his head had fallen. I touched the back of my skull with my hand and felt a bump that made me jolt when I touched it.

The young man sat up as well and turned to look at me. He squinted his eyes and then opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello," he said.

I nodded, remembering that I was a mute boy…named D'Artagnan.

"My name is Will. Will Turner," he continued. "And you?"

I pointed a finger to my mouth and shook my head. He nodded, oblivious that he had the same name as the pirate who died defending Jack Sparrow. A man also known as "Bootstrap Bill". I wondered if there was any relation.

"I must find Elizabeth. You may come along if you wish," Will said, standing up.

I followed him to a small structure where a "Commodore bloody Norrington", Governor Swann, Murtogg, and Mullroy stood. Knowing the latter two would recognize me and out me as a pirate in cahoots with Jack Sparrow, I grabbed onto Will's sleeve and indicated that I would wait for him.

He seemed confused, but he nodded once more, and so I stood at the edge of the building where the meeting was taking place, listening in.

"They've taken her. They've taken Elizabeth," he said urgently.

"Mr. Murtogg, remove this man," Norrington droned.

"We have to hunt them down. We must save her!"

"And where do you propose we start?" Swann said. "If you have _any_ information concerning my daughter, please, _share_ it!"

"That…Jack Sparrow," Murtogg said. "'E talked about the _Black Pearl_."

I raised my eyebrows. _So, _that_'s the ship that raided Port Royal. Splendid._

"Uh—mentioned it is more what he did," Mullroy countered.

"Ask him where it is," Will suggested. "Make a deal with him. He could lead us to it."

I crossed my fingers, hoping this would help free Jack, who was probably waiting for me to come save him.

"No," Norrington said uninterestedly. "The pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell, ergo they are _not_ his allies. Governor, we will establish their most likely course, and—"

_Thud!_

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Will shouted.

"Mr. Turner," Norrington began. The axe that Will had undoubtedly thrown into the table had been pulled out. "You are not a military man. You are not a sailor … You are a _blacksmith_. And this is _not_ the moment for rash actions."

Suddenly, he sounded a lot closer.

"Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the _only_ man here who cares for Elizabeth," he said softly.

Will stepped down and looked at me.

"Fancy a trip to the fort?"


	4. Tortuga

** We hurried down** to the jail and found Jack lying down on the hay in his cell. The one next to him had a giant hole in the wall that expanded into his own, but his portion of it wasn't even big enough for a tiny child to crawl through.

"You. Sparrow," Will addressed him.

My pirate companion lifted his head in acknowledgment, looking at me for a split-second. He almost looked proud.

"Eh," he grunted.

"You are familiar with that ship. The_ Black Pearl_," Will waited for confirmation and Jack just laid his head back down lazily.

"I've 'eard of it."

"Where does it make berth?"

"Where does it make _berth_?" Jack lifted his head up instantly. "Have you not heard the stories?" And when Will didn't answer, he dropped his head back down in frustration. "_Captain_ Barbossa," he started poisonously, "and his crew of miscreants…sail from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found _except_…" he lifted his head once more, "by those who already know where it is."

"The ship's real enough. Therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?" Now Will was frustrated.

Jack checked his fingernails. "Why ask me?"

"Because you're a pirate," Will explained.

"And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?" Jack asked.

Will leaned in close to the bars. "_Never_."

Jack went back to checking his nails.

"They took Miss Swann," Will admitted.

"Oh, so it _is_ that you found a girl," Jack said excitedly, resting on his elbows. "I see. Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue, and so _win_ fair lady's heart…you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."

"I can get you out of here," Will offered.

"How's that? The key's run off."

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. But the comment didn't faze Will.

"I helped build these cells," he said, admiring his own handiwork. "These are half-pin barrel hinges." Will turned and grabbed a bench from behind us. "With the right leverage and the proper application of strength…" he put the legs of the bench against the bars, "…the door will lift free."

Jack stared at him for a moment. "What's your name?"

"Will Turner."

"That would be short for William, I imagine," Jack said as he sat up straighter. "Good, strong name. No doubt named for your father, eh?"

"…Yes."

"Uh-huh. Well, Mr. Turner," Jack stood up, "I've changed me mind. If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death I will take you to the _Black Pearl_…and your bonny lass."

"And you'll bring…?" Will gestured towards me and Jack grinned.

"Don't you know your mate's name?"

"He's a mute."

"_She_ is named Keegan and while she may be a tad shy, her slippery, old tongue is in full function."

Will turned to me in surprise.

I smiled. "Pirate."

"Do we have an accord?" Jack asked, sticking his hand through the bars.

Will stared at him, then shook. "Agreed."

"Agreed," Jack repeated. "Get me out."

Will used the bench to pull the door off and Jack scurried out.

"Hurry. Someone will have heard that," Will pointed out.

"Not without my effects," Jack told him as he grabbed his hat and other things from a peg on the wall.

* * *

We splashed our way under a river near the dock the _Interceptor_ was anchored at. I stood behind Will, who was right at Jack's elbow. The latter checked to see if the coast was clear and was probably thinking of some sort of plan.

"We're going to steal the ship?" Will asked. Then he looked ahead at the _Dauntless_. "_That _ship?"

"Commandeer," I corrected.

"She's right. We're going to commandeer _that_ ship," Jack pointed to the _Interceptor_. "Nautical term.

"One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going," he continued, turning around to face Will. "This girl. How far are you willing to go to save her?"

"I'd die for her," Will responded intensely.

"Oh, good," Jack turned back around. "No worries, then."

When the opportunity had risen, we went to the beach and found a longboat upside down on the sand. We crouched underneath and waited until we couldn't hear anyone around us. Once a small troop marched briskly away, we picked up the boat a little and scuttled into the water.

We created an air pocket for our heads and walked along the bottom of the ocean. Every breath we took echoed and every step was slow.

"This is either madness or brilliance," Will commented.

"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Jack added.

In front of me, Will stepped his foot into a wooden trap. He tried to shake it off, but ended up just taking it with him.

We finally made it to the _Dauntless_ and climbed up the stern, Will leaving his trap on the rudder and tying the rope around the chain.

Not having the strongest set of arms, I had a bit more difficulty making my way up the ship. I almost lost my grip at the top, but luckily Will caught me before anything bad happened and pulled me aboard.

We snuck past the helm, overhearing the mumblings of whatever crewmen were on deck. I followed Jack down the steps while Will hopped over the railing, both with their weapons at the ready.

"Everyone stay calm! We are taking over the ship," Jack shouted.

"Aye! Avast!" Will yelled.

I pursed my lips as the Navy men laughed and Jack grimaced at the young man.

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men and a young boy. You'll never make it out of the bay," said the lieutenant smugly.

"Son…" Jack reached out his pistol and pressed it against the lieutenant's nose. He looked down at the barrel and his eyes crossed. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow … Savvy?"

Needless to say, the Navy men got into a longboat and started rowing back towards the beach.

I stood with Jack up at the helm, and Will came running up.

"Here they come," I said.

Jack looked over his shoulder and watched as the _Interceptor_ sailed ever closer to us. A wicked grin creeped up on his face.

The _Interceptor_ finally reached us. We hid as several grappling hooks attached to the railings. As soon as everyone was off the deck of the fast ship, we grabbed lines and swung over. Will used his axe to chop off the ropes connecting us to the _Dauntless_ and Jack scurried over to the helm. I watched as one of the sailors attempted to swing onto our ship, but ultimately fell into the water.

"Thank you, Commodore, for getting us ready to make way," Jack shouted back to Norrington. "We'd have had a hard time of it by ourselves."

The Navy men started shooting at us, but we ducked. And soon we were in the clear.

* * *

It was smooth sailing, nothing but miles of ocean separating us from Port Royal and Tortuga. Jack was checking the sails and I was sitting down with Will, who was sharpening his sword.

"So, what's your story?" I asked him, untwisting my long hair from the braid it was in.

Will gave me a bitter smile. "I can honestly say to you that it's not much."

"Keegan enjoys any tale, no matter how small," Jack commented.

I grinned and cocked my head towards the young man.

"Very well, then. When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father," Will said. He looked up at Jack, as if just having an epiphany.

"Is that so?" Jack asked, pretending not to know a single thing about Bootstrap Bill.

"My father, Will Turner," Will stood up and followed Jack up to the aft deck. I stood up and joined him. "And at jail it was only _after_ you learnt my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack. You knew my father."

Jack pulled a line tight around a peg. Then he sighed before standing up and turning to face Will.

"I knew him. Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill," Jack admitted.

Jack walked off to the helm.

"Bootstrap?" Will asked incredulously.

"Good man. Good pirate. I swear, you look just like him."

"It's not true. He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law."

"He was a bloody pirate; a scallywag."

"My father," Will unsheathed his sword, "was _not_ a pirate."

Jack sighed again, not even turning around to look at the blade pointed at the back of his head.

"Put it away, Will," I said. "It's not worth you getting beat again."

"You were there?" he asked. I nodded and he continued. "Then you saw that he didn't beat me. He ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill him."

"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?" Jack said over his shoulder.

He suddenly turned the helm to one side, causing the boom to swing out over the water, taking Will with it. He clung on for dear life.

Jack picked up his sword. "Now, as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that really matter are these: What a man _can_ do and what a man _can't_ do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate _and_ a good man, or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday.

"Now me, for example. I can let you drown. But Keegan and I _can't_ bring this ship into Tortuga all by our twosie, savvy? So," Jack leaned down and pulled the helm so the boom was righted. Will landed hard on the deck and Jack pointed the sword at him, "can you sail under the command of a pirate?" He then flipped the sword so the tip of the blade was in his fingertips. "Or can you not?"

Will grabbed the handle and considered Jack's words.

"Tortuga?"

I stepped up next to a smiling Jack and we spoke together.

"Tortuga."

* * *

_POW!_

I just barely missed getting shot by no doubt a drunkard. Such is the risk of strolling around the island. With the townsfolk perpetually inebriated, fighting, and purchasing "pleasurable company", it's a wonder the population hasn't died out just yet.

Personally, I don't much enjoy being drunk. The sickness in the morning is not worth it to me. I don't mind taking care of the drunks, however. My old friend Gibbs is one of my regular patients, considering I live with him. Anamaria occasionally leans on my shoulders as well. It makes me feel better knowing I've put them to bed properly.

"I'll be back in a moment," I said over my shoulder. Jack and Will were ambling along behind me, the former giving the latter a run-down of the place.

Jack waved me off and I hurried along to my bungalow. It appeared no one was in and the door was locked. I looked around to see if anyone was watching and crouched down. On the porch was a barrel once filled with spices. I reached behind it and grabbed a spare key.

I unlocked the door and put the key back. I peered into the darkness of my home and managed to find my desk. I felt around in a drawer for my matches and then lit the candle on said desk. I took the candle to the room I slept in.

I had procured an armoire from an earlier raid and decided to keep it in there. Inside hung my corsets and extra clothing. I wrapped an off-white corset around my waist and laced it up comfortably.

After reapplying some kohl under my eyes, I came outside to see Jack and Will in the square. The redheaded prostitute, Scarlett, had just struck him across the face and angrily walked past me on my way to my companions. Soon after, a blonde prostitute, Giselle, did the same.

"I _may_ have deserved that," Jack said to Will. "Ah, Keegan. Have you any idea where ol' Gibbsie might be located?"

Remembering the last time I'd seen him, and the threat the barkeeper had yelled out, I started to smirk. "I think I have an idea…"

We found Gibbs lying amongst the pigs, an empty bottle at his side. Both Jack and Will grabbed wooden buckets and filled them with water. Jack splashed his on the sailor and woke him immediately.

"Curse yeh fer breathin', yeh slack-jawed idiot!" Gibbs shouted, holding out a knife. Then he realized who he was looking at and softened. "Mother's love. Keegan and Jack. You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleepin'. It's bad luck."

"Ah. Fortunately, I know how to counter it," Jack said, and then he stepped forward until he was crouched before Gibbs. "The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."

Gibbs thought for a moment. "Aye, that'll about do it," he finally said, reaching his hand out so Jack could help him up. As soon as he was on his feet, Will splashed him with his own bucket.

"Blast! I'm already awake!" Gibbs yelled.

"That was for the smell," Will explained.

I snorted. My nostrils were accustomed to the stench of most pirates.

Gibbs shrugged and then we went into a tavern.


	5. Mr Cotton's Parrot

** "So, how long **have you been a pirate?" Will asked me, looking around the lively tavern apprehensively.

"All me life," I said. "I was born into it."

"You never did tell me your last name," Will mentioned.

"Lynch. Keegan Lynch. Daughter of Liam and Aislinn—or 'Leave 'em in Ash' as they were often referred to."

"Weren't they the ones who met on Blackbeard's ship?"

"Ah," I gave Will a warm smile. "You've 'eard that yarn before? They did not meet on the _Queen Anne's Revenge_. In fact, I don't believe they ever knew Edward Teach. It was on a ship captained by a pirate named Roberts that they were introduced. Me mother was betrothed to another, but me father came along and _that_ is the true story."

"And how did they…actually die?" Will asked carefully.

"What story have you heard?" I smirked.

"They were betrayed by their lookout and raided by a crew in the middle of the night. The only two to survive were their hostage and the four year-old daughter," Will said.

"Not all in one piece," I frowned, reaching back to touch where the giant scar across my back ended at my shoulder. I glanced over at Gibbs, the 'hostage', who was sitting at a table. "For someone who abhors pirates, yeh sure know a lot."

"Miss Swann told me when we were children," he explained.

"I see."

Jack walked past us with two mugs of rum. He came over to us and looked at the dancing, yelling, laughing people inside the tavern. Leaning in between us, he addressed Will.

"Keep a sharp eye." Then he turned to me. "Look out for him."

I nodded, but Will just stared incredulously at Jack before the captain strolled over to Gibbs.

I felt sorry for the young Master Turner. The only reason Jack was keeping him around was for "leverage". It almost made me wonder if there was some mystery part that I was playing as well.

The howling laughter of an inebriated woman took me out of my thoughts. I turned to my right and saw a large, toothless woman holding a mug leaning on Will. Ever the polite man, he didn't spurn her advances, but didn't welcome them either.

I started to reach for my scabbard, but I remembered that I left it in my bungalow. As I was making a mental note to get it before we departed in the morning, the woman's significant other pried her off and gave Will the evil eye.

I turned around and saw Gibbs and Jack still talking. They clinked their mugs together and tossed the rum back.

* * *

"Feast your eyes, Cap'n," Gibbs announced as we looked at the motley crew before us. Some old, some young, some tall, one very short… "All of 'em faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot."

"So _this_ is your able-bodied crew?" Will asked, doubt seeping out of every word.

Ignoring him, Jack continued down the line and we stopped at an old man with a macaw on his shoulder. Jack scrutinized him for a moment.

"You, sailor," he said loudly.

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs answered.

"Mr. Cotton: Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Jack asked. Cotton was silent. Jack got closer to him. "Mr. Cotton! Answer, man."

Gibbs stepped forward. "He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out—" Cotton opened his mouth wide to show what was left of his tongue and we all grimaced, "—so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how…"

Jack took a step to the side and stood before the macaw. "Mr. Cotton's…parrot. Same question."

"_Squaaawk!_ Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" the bird said.

"Mostly we figure that means yes," Gibbs explained.

"Of course it does," Jack said. Then he whispered, "Satisfied?" over his shoulder to Will.

"Well, you've proved their mad," the young man retorted.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

My ears perked up at the familiar voice of a woman masquerading as a man. As I walked with Jack over to the second-to-last person in line, I started to get a feeling as to who was underneath the wide-brimmed hat. Jack lifted it up and I grinned.

"Anamaria," he said in a smug voice.

She reached out and struck him across the face.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either," Will assumed.

"No, that one I deserved," Jack admitted as Anamaria nodded.

"You stole. My. Boat," she punctuated her words with anger.

"Actually—"

_SMACK!_

"_Borrowed_. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back," Jack said.

"But you didn't!"

"Er—Keegan was in on it too! Are you going to hit her too?"

"Coward," I rolled my eyes.

Anamaria smiled brightly at me after just noticing me for the first time and I waved, but then she looked back at Jack heatedly.

"You'll get another one," Jack replied.

Anamaria pointed a finger right in his face. "I will."

Jack held his green banana up defensively, searching for the right response.

"A better one," I supplied.

"A better one," Jack repeated.

"That one," Will pointed at the _Interceptor_.

"What one?" Jack turned to Will, who gestured to the ship out in the water. "_That one?!_" Will and I both gave him a look and he conceded. "Aye, that one. What say you?"

"Aye!" Anamaria shouted, and the other crewman joined in. She grabbed her hat back from Jack and they headed for the longboat.

"No, no-no, no-no," Gibbs approached Jack. "It's frightful bad luck to bring two women aboard, let alone one, sir."

I glared at him. As much as I loved that man…

"It'll be far worse not to have them," Jack said.

* * *

The first night was a rough one. We were pelted by rain and the sea was choppy. I was trying to help Gibbs and Will pull some of the lines. At one point, a giant wave came upon us and we hit the deck.

"HOW CAN WE SAIL TO AN ISLAND THAT NOBODY CAN FIND WITH A COMPASS THAT DOESN'T WORK?" Will hollered after we'd gotten up and tugged the rope to the other side of the ship.

"AYE, THE COMPASS DOESN'T POINT NORTH," Gibbs pointed out. "BUT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO _FIND_ NORTH, ARE WE?"

I went up to Jack, who was at the helm. He looked away from his compass and I struggled to step over to him.

"WE SHOULD DROP CANVAS, JACK," I yelled.

"SHE CAN HOLD A BIT LONGER," Jack responded, turning the wheel.

"WHAT'S IN YOUR HEAD THAT'S PUT YOU IN SUCH A FINE MOOD?"

"WE'RE CATCHING UP!"


	6. That Would Be The French

** We sailed carefully** through a graveyard of ships. The fog was thick and the air was nippy. I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm.

"Dead men tell no tales," Cotton's parrot squawked as we all stood at the railing.

Well, all but Jack and Cotton himself.

"Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage," I said to Gibbs and Will. Then I stepped away from the railing to tighten up a line. Gibbs and Will followed.

"How is it that Jack came by that compass?" Will asked.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. 'E's told some to Keegan," Gibbs nodded to me.

"But 'oo knows how much of it is true," I smirked up towards the helm, where Jack and Cotton stood.

"That was before I'd met him," Gibbs continued. "Back when he was Captain of the _Black Pearl_."

I snapped my eyes to the sea salt, who took a swig from his leather flask. Will turned around in surprise. Jack hadn't spoken of that for a reason.

"What?" Will asked.

Gibbs realized his mistake and his eyes widened.

"He failed to mention that," Will glanced over at Jack as well.

"He plays things closer to the vest now," I said.

"And a hard-learned lesson it was," Gibbs added. "See, three days out in the venture, the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure too. So, Jack gives up the bearings. That night, there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die—but not before he'd gone mad with the heat.

"Ah. So that's the reason for all the…" Will held out his arms and pretended to sway like an incredibly drunk person.

I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. Gibbs just stared at him as if _Will_ had gone mad.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it," he said, sitting down on a barrel. Will joined him, but I just leaned against the mast. "Now, Will, when a pirate's marooned, he's given a pistol with a single shot. One shot. Well, that won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of starvin' belly an' thirst, that pistol'll start to look real friendly."

"But Jack escaped the island," I interjected as Gibbs portrayed someone putting the pistol to their head, "and he still has that single shot."

"Oh, he won't use it, though. Save on one man … His mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa," Will said.

"Aye."

"How did Jack get off the island?"

"Well, I'll tell ye. He waded out into the shallows and he waited there three days and three nights…"

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. I knew the real story.

"…'til all manner of sea creatures 'came _acclimated_ to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, _lashed_ 'em together and made a raft," Gibbs told him.

Will didn't look like he was buying it. "He roped a couple of sea turtles?"

"Aye, sea turtles," Gibbs repeated.

"…What did he use for rope?"

Gibbs seemed at a loss. I looked up and noticed that Jack had come over to us.

"Human hair. From my back," the captain said, giving me a look so as to tell me not to give the real story. The he addressed the crew. "Let go the anchor!"

"Aye, Captain, aye!" they shouted.

"Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore. Keegan, you as well," Jack commanded.

Gibbs and Will got up and we followed Jack as he walked off.

"Captain—what if the worst should happen?" Gibbs asked.

"Keep to the Code."

"Aye, the Code."

Will turned to me for an explanation, but I kept mum.

* * *

Jack rowed us in the longboat while Will kept up the lantern. We went past skeletons and glided over coins below the water.

"What Code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" Will asked.

"Pirate's Code," Jack told him. "Any man who falls behind…is left behind."

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Will commented.

"You know, for having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one," I pointed out. "Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Turtuga…" I noticed Will looking at the coins below. "And you're completely obsessed with treasure."

We beached on a rock and the three of us got out. Will seemed very cross with me.

"That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure," he said defensively.

I followed Jack through the cavern and up a little hill to where there was a hole we could peer through.

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate," Jack told him.

"_Gentlemen, the time has come!_"

I looked out and saw the cursed crew standing amongst ten years' worth of hoarded swag. At the top of a mountain of gold stood a man, a woman, and a giant stone box. The woman, Elizabeth Swann, was dressed in a burgundy-colored gown. And the man, Barbossa, was all in dark colors, an extravagant hat atop his head.

"_YEA!_" the crew yelled in response.

"_Our salvation is nigh!_" Barbossa continued.

I found myself captivated by every word he said. I could hardly see what he looked like, but there was something about him that took my breath away.

"_YEA!_"

"_Our torment is near an end!_"

"Elizabeth," Will muttered, sidling up next to me.

"_YEA!_"

"_For ten years, we've been tested and tried, and each man jack of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over, and a hundred times again!_"

"_YEA!_"

"_Suffered, I 'ave!_" said a skinny one—one of the pirates who kidnapped Elizabeth.

"_Punished, we were, the lot of us!_" Barbossa added. "_Disproportionate to our crime! Here it is,_" he kicked off the lid of the stone box and ran his fingers over the coins that were undoubtedly inside. "_The cursed treasure of Cortés himself. Every last piece that went astray, we have returned. Save for this_." He pointed to Elizabeth's chest, where hung the last piece.

"Jack!" Will gasped, stepping back, knocking over some piled up doubloons.

"Not yet," Jack told him as we ducked down. "We wait for the opportune moment."

"_Eight hundred and eighty-one we found, but despaired of ever finding the last…_"

Will and I followed Jack as he went through the cave walls.

"When's that?" Will asked. "When it's of greatest profit to you?"

"May I ask you something?" Jack turned around. "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" Will remained silent. "Do us a favor. I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here…and try not to do anything stupid."

Jack ran off and I scampered after him. We went to another opening in the rock.

"_You know the first thing I'm gonna do after the curse is lifted…?_"

Barbossa's crew laughed.

"_Eat a whole bushel of apples._"

We watched as Barbossa bent the girl over the box and pulled out a dagger. His crew started chanting, "_Ho!_"

"_Begun by blood. By blood undone_."

But before any blood was shed, we turned around and saw Will coming at us with an oar. He hit Jack first, then I'm not really sure what happened after that…

* * *

I woke up with a splitting headache and absolutely no idea as to where I was. I turned over onto my side and saw the dark cavern walls. I carefully sat up and gently touched the throbbing bump on the back of my head as the memories came back. Twice on this adventure had I been knocked out… Twice too many.

_I need to learn to duck_, I thought to myself.

"Mm."

On the ground next to me was Jack. His face was screwed up and he was just stirring into consciousness as well. I got on my knees and patted his cheeks enough to speed up the process.

"Oi!" Jack grumbled. He opened one eye and stared up at me, a grin starting to spread across his face. "Ah, Miss Keegan. You've finally agreed to have me."

"Get up," I rolled my eyes.

I got to my feet and held out my hand to aid Jack. He found the oar that Will had assaulted us with and took it as well.

Jack started walking and I followed him. We headed near the water where the longboats were and found Barbossa's crew yelling.

"The oars have gone missing! FIND THEM!" the large bo'sun shouted.

As they scuttled around helplessly, Jack and I stopped to watch them. It wasn't long before the skinny one, Ragetti, noticed us. My captain pushed me behind him in a surprisingly selfless effort to keep me hidden.

"You," Ragetti whispered, pointing. His crewmates huddled around him.

"You're s'posed to be dead!" the bald, stout one, Pintel, said.

"Am I not?" Jack asked, checking his body. He then turned around as a disgustingly rancid hand covered my mouth and pulled me into a rock hard chest. I heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

Some of the crew had gone around and cornered us. Jack looked at me and gulped. He turned, but Pintel had his pistol pointed right at him.

"Palulay," Jack slurred. "Palu-li-la-la-lulu. Parlili. Par…snip. Par…sley. Par…partner. Partner."

"Parley?" Ragetti offered.

"That's the one! Parley! _Parley_ for the miss and me."

"Parley?" Pintel said through gritted teeth. "_Damn_ to the depths whatever muttonhead thought up parley."

"That would be the French," Jack said.

* * *

My breath hitched as Barbossa stepped through his men and came closer to us. He stared at Jack in disbelief, not seeming to notice me and the behemoth holding onto me. My nose wasn't as numb as I'd thought because this man smelled something awful.

"How the blazes did you get off that island?" he asked.

"When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Ah, well, I won't be makin' that mistake _again_. Gents, yeh all remember Captain Jack Sparrow," Barbossa said, getting closer to Jack. His crew all said, "Aye." Then he turned around. "Kill him."

Several guns cocked around Jack.

"I'll keep you for meself," muttered a voice in my ear. The smell of his breath nearly made me faint.

"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" Jack asked Barbossa's retreating figure.

"Hold your fire!" Barbossa ordered, facing his old foe. "You know whose blood we need."

"_We_ know whose blood you need," Jack cocked his head towards me.

Barbossa caught my eyes and scrutinized me. "Kemp, off the girl."

The hand reluctantly let go of my face and I stumbled forward. Barbossa's eyes widened. His colorless lips parted and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Aislinn," he whispered.

Then he whipped around and walked away.

* * *

Jack and I were tied up and put into separate longboats. After the oars had been retrieved from where they were floating in the water, we set off towards the _Black Pearl_. Barbossa kneeled high in the first one, Jack sat between Pintel and Ragetti in the boat in the middle, and I was forced to sit in Kemp's lap in the boat next to Jack.

He had just about the ugliest face I'd ever seen in my life. The only redeeming features of the dog-faced man were his muscles.

Speaking of muscles, the bo'sun sat before me. He turned his head and chortled.

"I kyannot wait for de curse to be lifted," he said.

"Neither can I," Kemp said, raking his jagged fingernails across my thigh. "Ten years we've 'ad to search out the perfect gi'l. I thought that Turner gi'l was it, but now I think I've changed me mind."

I knew exactly what they were going to do. With ten years' worth of pleasurable frustration, their loins must have nearly been bursting. I felt like someone had poured the coldest water from the Arctic Circle down my back.

"Don't look so sad, my sweet," Kemp muttered in my ear. "I've been told I'm _quite_ the lover."

"By 'oo?" I whispered in disgust.

Kemp roughly threw me into the hull and struck me across the face. It stung, but I refused to cry in front of him.

"Oi! No rockin' de boat!" Bo'sun shouted. He turned his head again and saw my red cheek. "You remember what Barbossa said! She's under the protection of parley and no harm shall be done!"

"Yet," Kemp snarled, giving me an utterly terrifying look of anger and excitement.

* * *

"So, you expect to leave me standin' on some beach with nothin' but a name and your word it's the one I need and watch you sail away on my ship?" Barbossa repeated the offer Jack had given him, chuckling at the end.

We were sitting in the Captain's quarters at a table with a bowl of apples in the center. Jack and I had been untied, but I felt that reaching out and eating one of the apples was not in my best interest.

Barbossa's pet capuchin monkey, dressed to the nines, sat on a perch shaped like an onion dome. I smiled at it and he jumped onto the table and into my lap. Jack sneered at it and responded to Barbossa.

"No," he said, as if it were obvious and started pacing closer to Barbossa. "I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on _my_ ship, and then I'll _shout_ the name back to you. Savvy?"

"But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and _your_ word it's the one I need."

Jack started to pick around for a good apple. "Of the two of us, I'm the only one who hasn't committed mutiny. Miss Keegan hasn't either, but she has also been the victim of one and is an extension of me. Therefore, my word is the one we'll be trusting."

I furrowed my brow. _An extension of him?_

"Although," Jack sat down with his apple, "I suppose I should be thanking you because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share in that curse, same as you." Jack bit into the apple. "Funny ol' world, innit?"

Barbossa grinned sarcastically and grunted.

Jack held out the apple and offered it to him, knowing quite well that the pirate couldn't taste it.

"Captain, we're coming up on the _Interceptor_," said Bo'sun as he entered the quarters.

The monkey screeched and jumped out of my lap. We all stood up and followed Barbossa to the deck where the helm was located. Jack stayed behind and glanced out to sea where the so-called fastest ship in the Caribbean was ahead. Barbossa looked through his spyglass. Then Jack stood in front of it.

"I'm having a thought here, Barbossa," Jack said as the other captain slowly lowered his glass. "What say we run up a flag of truce, Keegan and I scurry over to the _Interceptor_, and I negotiate the return of your medallion, eh? What say you to that?"

"Now, you see, Jack, that's exactly the attitude that lost you the _Pearl_. People are easy to search when they're dead." Barbossa turned to Bo'sun. "Lock him in the brig."

"And what of the gi'l?" Kemp said, putting one of his hands on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and gulped.

"Her too," Barbossa said.

I opened my eyes and he was staring at me again. But then Bo'sun clapped his hand on Jack, who gave Barbossa the bitten apple, and dragged him away.

Kemp pulled me after Bo'sun and I watched as Barbossa tossed the apple through the torn sails.


	7. Give Yer Mother A Kiss For Me

**It seemed as** though the _Pearl_ was a little flooded. I couldn't imagine Jack was too happy about that…

Bo'sun opened up a cell door and shoved Jack into it with a grunt. Then he looked to Kemp and gestured for him to throw me in as well.

"Apparently, there's a leak," Jack commented.

"Can't I keep 'er for now? Just to practice?" Kemp said to the bo'sun.

I gulped. He was relentless.

"Captain said to lock her in the brig," Bo'sun replied. "You know it would do no good anyway."

"Right, right. I'll be seein' you once the curse 'as been lifted, lit'le gi'l," he muttered the last part into my ear.

I could feel my skin crawl as he pushed me into the cell with a very affronted looking Jack. My captain grabbed onto my arms and pulled me closer to him. Another effort that surprised me.

"You alright, love?" he murmured once the other two pirates had left.

"Yeah," I nodded, not looking him in the eye. "I'm fine."

"Good," Jack let go of me and walked over the side of the cell. He leaned down towards the hull. There must have been a hole.

There was a lot of noise on deck. And it even sounded like the cannons and oars were being taken out. I worried for our allies on the _Interceptor_.

After a while, the ship suddenly turned hard to port. Jack swung back and to the side and I was shoved back to the cell wall myself. Once we had steadied ourselves, the guns were shot.

"Duck!" Jack shouted.

I got down on the ground and Jack flung himself on top of me. I looked up and saw that the peephole he had been using had grown a bit in size.

"Stop blowing 'oles in my ship!" he hollered.

Jack saw something floating in the water and I looked at the door. Whatever had been shot through the hull had blown off the lock. Meanwhile, Jack picked up Gibbs' flask and tried to drink from it, but it seemed to be empty.

"Jack," I gasped, pointing at the door

"Brilliant, love," he smiled. Standing up, he prodded the door open and I followed him out of the brig. "Best not get separated," he said as we reach the deck and he grabbed onto my hand.

He started to climb onto the railing. And as luck would have it, some pirate came swinging by on a line. Jack grabbed it with his other hand and the man fell onto the deck.

"Thanks very much," Jack said, turning his to him.

He took my hand and wrapped my arm around his neck. Grasping the hint, I did so with my other arm. The line was in between us. Jack had one hand on the rope while the other was holding onto me. Then he swung from the _Black Pearl_ to the _Interceptor_. Of course, he didn't let go soon enough and we knocked someone into the water.

"Whooooooaaaaa!" Jack yelled as we swung back towards his old ship. But we finally got back to the _Interceptor_ and dismounted promptly.

"Jack!" Gibbs said once I got myself untangled from the captain's body. "Keegan!"

Jack pulled Gibbs' flask out from his belt and handed it back to its rightful owner.

"Bloody empty," he said. Then he touched Gibbs' shoulder as he scampered off.

I headed in my own direction as someone came towards Gibbs. I pulled out my sword and one of the pirates accepted my challenge. And either he wasn't very good or I had improved greatly since my last sword fighting experience because I wound up disarming him and he ran for his weapon.

I heard a familiar screech and saw Barbossa's pet scurrying across a fallen mast that connected the two ships together. It was carrying the medallion, the little scamp.

"Monkey!" Jack started following the creature and I went after him. He crawled along the pole and was making great time, but the monkey was faster. I saw Barbossa standing at the other end of the mast.

"Why, thank you, Jack," he said once the monkey had crawled up onto his shoulder and handed him the medallion.

"You're welcome," Sparrow said.

"Not you. We named the monkey Jack," Barbossa gave him a wicked smile. "Gents, our hope is restored!"

* * *

"Any of you so much as _thinks_ the word 'parley', I'll have your guts for garters," Pintel threatened.

My old friend Kemp had his disgusting hands on me again. Only this time, he was gripping my wrists together.

I looked to my right and saw Gibbs and the rest tied to the mast. Jack was also being held by crewmembers. But where was Will?

I saw Elizabeth lift up the ropes binding her just as the _Interceptor_ blew up in the distance. We all jerked back.

"Will," Elizabeth whispered.

My heart sank at the thought of him perishing in the explosion.

"YOU'VE GOT TO STOP IT!" Elizabeth shrieked, running over to Barbossa, who stood at the railing. He turned and grabbed her arms so she couldn't hit him anymore. "STOP IT!"

"Welcome back, miss," he said. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now you return the favor."

He threw her against his chortling crew. She screamed as his men grabbed at her. Without thinking, I lunged towards her to help her out, but Kemp wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me hard against him. I tried to get out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

"Barbossa!"

We all stopped and turned to see a familiar young man on the railing. I couldn't help but smile.

"Will," Elizabeth whispered again.

He jumped down and grabbed a pistol that was laying around. "She goes free."

"What's in your head, boy?" Barbossa jaunted forward.

"She goes free," Will repeated, holding the gun at the pirate.

"Yeh've only got one shot, and we can't die," Barbossa reminded him.

"Don't do anything stupid," Jack muttered, holding his hands together and bowing.

Will clambered back onto the railing. "You can't," he said, then placed the barrel under his chin. "I can."

The pirate crew murmured and Elizabeth gasped, trying to run for Will.

"Like that," Jack said.

"Who _are_ you?" Barbossa asked.

"No one. He's no one," Jack scampered over to the other captain. "A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though. _Eunuch._"

"My name is Will Turner. My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins," Will explained.

"'E's the spittin' image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to 'aunt us," Ragetti pointed at the young man.

"On my word, do as I say," Will announced, "or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker."

"Name your terms, Mr. Turner," Barbossa replied.

"Elizabeth goes free."

"Yes, we know that one. Anythin' else?"

Jack started to point to himself.

Will gestured to him with the gun briefly. "And the crew. The crew are not to be harmed."

Barbossa stepped forward. "Agreed."

* * *

We found ourselves off the shore of an island, Elizabeth on the plank. Barbossa had twisted Will's words cleverly.

"Go on, Poppet! Go on!" Pintel jeered.

He and his crewmates were jabbing their swords at the girl while their captain chortled.

"Walk the plank!"

"YAAR!"

Kemp still held onto me, only now one of his hands had snaked around my waist and was pressing me into his body. I tried hard not to breathe through my nose.

"Barbossa, you lying bastard! You swore she'd go free!" Will hollered, breaking free from whatever pirate was holding onto him as well, stepping forward to approach the captain even though his hands were tied behind his back.

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy!" Barbossa spat at him, his whole crew watching. "I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where."

The crew started cackling and tied a gag in Will's mouth. They pulled him away from Barbossa and pointed some of their weapons at him.

"Though it does seem a shame to lose somethin' so fine, don't it, lads?" Barbossa continued, staring at Elizabeth.

"Aye," they all agreed.

Barbossa came forward and held out his hand. "So I'll be havin' that dress back before yeh go."

Elizabeth looked affronted. Then she started undoing the dress until she was only in her petticoats. The crew whistled and laughed. She threw the dress at Barbossa.

"Goes with your black heart," she snarled.

"Ooh, it's still warm," he joked, tossing it to his men.

Elizabeth turned around and slowly walked to the edge of the plank.

"Off you go!" Pintel bellowed before Jack the Monkey screeched. "Cah'mon!"

"Too long!" Bo'sun complained, stamping the other end of the plank with his foot and sending the girl into the water with a scream.

I looked over to Jack and saw him pretending to laugh along with the crew, but then they started to march him over to the plank as well.

"I'd really rather hoped we were past all this," Jack commented to Barbossa.

The other captain put an arm around him. "Jack. _Jaaaack_. Didja not notice? That be the same little island that we made yeh governor of on our last little trip."

Jack glanced at it. "I did notice."

"Perhaps yeh'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape. But I doubt it," Barbossa chuckled, releasing his arm and then pulling out his own sword. "Off you go."

"Yea!" the crew hissed.

"But," Jack said loudly, "to keep on the theme of bloodlines, did _you_ notice…that the girl being held by Master Kemp over there…is the very daughter of Aislinn Lynch?"

Barbossa turned and stared at me, the same look on his face as he had in the Isla de Muerta. He snapped his eyes back to Jack. "What of it?" he asked, his anger betraying his cool exterior.

"Would you not wish to also maroon the flesh and blood of the woman who broke whatever was left of that heart?"

I raised my eyebrows. He must have been the man my mother left for my father.

Barbossa put his blade right under Jack's chin. "I said, 'off you go'."

"Last time, you left me with a pistol with one shot," Jack reminded him.

"By the powers, yeh're right. Where be Jack's pistol?" Barbossa asked, sheathing his sword. "Bring it forward." One of his crewman handed him Jack's effects.

"Seeing as there's two of us," Jack nodded his head towards Elizabeth, then looked at me, "possibly three, a _gentleman_ would give us a pair of pistols…or three."

"It'll be one pistol as before, and _you_ can be the gentleman and shoot the lady and starve yourself," Barbossa said, throwing the weapons into the water. Jack dove after them. Barbossa turned to me again. "Kemp, let go of her."

"Aye, Cap'n," the behemoth removed both his hands from my body and stepped back.

"When I saw ye first, I thought it was but a trick of the light that you looked like Aislinn," Barbossa said, putting his thumb on my chin. There was a wicked grin on his face.

"Can I keep 'er for meself?" Kemp interrupted.

"Unfortunately, Kemp, a different fate lies with young Keegan," Barbossa told him. "To the plank."

The captain held out his arm and coerced me to take it. He led me to plank, his crew taunting me. I stopped walking before I could climb onto the wood. Barbossa let go of me and put his arm around my waist.

"I'm terribly sorry for whatever my—"

"Give yer mother a kiss for me," Barbossa cut me off, pulling me into his chest and forcing his lips upon mine. I tried to push him off. He finally let go and spun me around.

I got up on the plank shakily. The water seemed so far below me. I saw Elizabeth and Jack bobbing at the surface. Then my sword and scabbard went flying past my shoulder. I dove in, just as Jack did and pierced through the water.

* * *

We trudged up the beach one after the other. Jack stopped in his tracks when he was up to his ankles and threw some of his effects onto the sand. He turned and stared at the _Black Pearl_'s retreating figure.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship," he said as I walked past him.

I undid my corset and laid it out on the beach to dry. After wringing out as much as I could of my shirt, I sat on my haunches and took my boots off. I reached to my side and used my finger to draw in the sand.

Jack walked off, leaving some of his outerwear by mine, and Elizabeth followed. I could hear him being berated by Elizabeth, but I didn't pay much attention.

By the time they returned from the palm trees with several bottles of rum, I had gotten off my arse and started to play around with the wet sand. I had created something of a fortress and was working on a throne.

"Keegan, love," Jack said, taking a swig. "Would you like some?" He rolled a bottle down to me.

"No, thanks," I stepped over my fortress wall and rolled the bottle back up to him.

Not the best decision on my part.

"_We're devils, we're black sheep, we're really bad eggs. Drink up me hearties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho_—"

"Ouch!"

"_A pirate's life for me!_"

I sighed as I stoked the fire I'd started. The sky had grown dark, my fortress and throne had washed away with the tide, and the two were absolutely gone. They were singing that bloody song and dancing around the flames.

"I love this song!" Jack yelled, taking a break from his duet with Elizabeth. He twirled her around as she giggled. "_Really_ bad eggs! Ooh…" Jack fell onto his back and then sat up to pull her down with him. "When I get the _Pearl_ back…I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew. And we'll sing it _all_ the time!"

"Not bloody likely," I muttered.

"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirates in the Spanish Main," Elizabeth said dramatically.

"Not just the Spanish Main, love," Jack corrected. "The entire ocean. The entire _world_. Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails—that's what a ship _needs_. But what a ship is…what the _Black Pearl_ really is…is freedom."

"Jack," Elizabeth, still holding her bottle out, leaned her head against his shoulder, "it must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island."

"Oh, yes. But the…company is infinitely better than last time, I think. The scenery has definitely improved."

"Mr. Sparrow."

"Mm-hmm?

"I'm not entirely sure that I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk."

"Yes, you have," I murmured, sitting down and warming my hands.

"I know exactly what you mean, love," Jack said, twirling his mustache so it curled up.

Elizabeth held her bottle up. "To freedom."

"To the _Black Pearl_," Jack clinked his bottle and tossed it back, falling onto the sand with a loud thud.

* * *

"Excuse me. Excuse me."

I opened one eye and saw Elizabeth kneeling over me. She looked absolutely awful.

"What's your name again?" she asked.

"Keegan," I said. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Well then, Keegan, would you mind helping me make a fire?" Elizabeth nodded toward the trees where the cache of rum must have been.

She explained her idea to me and I found it brilliant. I got the fire started and she added the rum. Jack wouldn't be happy about it, but it was better than just waiting for the rumrunners to come back.

"No! Not good!"

I turned and saw Jack waving his arms as he scurried over to us.

"Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade! The rum!"

"Yes, the rum is gone," Elizabeth said, coming over to me as Jack continued to go wild.

"Why is the rum gone?"

"One: Because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two: That signal is over a thousand feet high. The _entire_ Royal Navy is out looking for me. Do you really think that there is _even_ the slightest chance they won't see it?"

"But why is the rum gone?"

Elizabeth turned around and sat on the beach. "Just wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye open, and you will see white sails on that horizon."

Jack pulled out his pistol and considered shooting her with it. Then he thought better of it and stormed off.

I plopped down next to her and crossed my legs. "He'll get over it," I shrugged.


	8. Make 'Em Bleed

**"But we've got** to save Will."

"No!" Governor Swann protested as soon as we were safely on the _Dauntless_. "You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately—_not_ go gallivanting after pirates!"

"Then we condemn him to death," Elizabeth pointed out, chasing after him as he went to stand by Commodore Norrington. Meanwhile, Jack and I stood betwixt Murtogg and Mullroy against the railing.

"The boy's fate _is_ regrettable, but then so was his decision to engage in piracy," her father said.

"To rescue _me_! To prevent anything from happening to me!"

"If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion," Jack stepped forward to speak to Norrington. Mullroy grabbed my elbow and took me with him as he and his companion followed Jack. "The _Pearl_ was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's _very_ unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Thank about it. The _Black Pearl_. The last _real_ pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up, right?"

"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow. Not only myself," Norrington stormed off.

"Commodore, I beg you, please do this," Elizabeth followed him. "For me. As a wedding gift."

Norrington turned, halfway up a set of stairs. He gazed at Elizabeth in shock. Governor Swann went up to her.

"Elizabeth," he said. "Are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?"

"…I am."

"A wedding. I love weddings! Drinks all around!" Jack cheered, grasping my shoulder. He caught Norrington's displeased look and held his arms out with his wrists together. "I know. 'Clap him in irons', right?"

Norrington stepped back down. "Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with a bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage with your comrade contemplating all meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave'. Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably clear."

* * *

As soon as it got dark, we reached the Isla de Muerta. Norrington's guards collected us from the brig and took us on deck. We got in a longboat and were lowered into the murky water.

Norrington examined the _Black Pearl_ through his spyglass. There was limited room in the boat, so I had to sit next to him. Behind us, Jack was seated between Murtogg and Mullroy, as he seemed like the bigger threat.

"I don't care for the situation," Norrington said, closing up the spyglass. "Any attempt to storm the caves could turn to an ambush."

Jack leaned forward and stuck his head in between ours. I slid over a bit to the side.

"_Not_ if you're the one doing the ambushing," he said. "Keegan and I go in, we convince Barbossa to send his men out with their little boats. You and your mates return to the _Dauntless_ and blast the bejesus out of them with your little cannons, eh? What do you have to lose?"

I'm sure Norrington really appreciated Jack leaning his arm on his shoulder. That's why he slid it off with his spyglass.

"Nothing I'd lament being rid of," he snarked.

_Meaning us._

"Now, to be quite honest with you," Jack continued, "there's still a slight risk to those aboard the _Dauntless_, which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

Norrington then ordered that the men onboard dress Elizabeth up in the Navy uniform and lock her up in a safe room. Meanwhile, Jack and I were put in our own longboat.

He rowed us into the cave with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. He knew Elizabeth wouldn't be too pleased about her fate. I assumed he was also happy that he got the commodore to listen to him.

"What's the plan?" I asked, staring at the skeletons on the rocks.

"All you need to do, darling, is flash the windows to your soul at the ol' captain," Jack told me.

Not pleased with the bare bones answer, I sat back and kept myself quiet. Finally, we reached the other boats and got out quickly. We followed the rapid chanting of the cursed crew and came upon them not unlike how we did the first time.

"Beg your pardon. Beg your pardon," Jack said as we pushed past them.

"Excuse me. Sorry," I added.

"Begun by blood," Barbossa recited from the mountain of gold where he stood with Will, some of his most trusted co-horts, and the chest.

"Excuse me," Jack muttered.

"By blood un—"

The chanting died down and Barbossa stared at us. Will looked up, his spirits revived.

"Jack! Keegan!" he exclaimed.

"It's not possible," Barbossa whispered.

"Not _probable_," Jack corrected.

"Where's Elizabeth?" Will asked, struggling to stand up straight.

"She's _safe_, just like I promised," Jack told him, reaching the base of the gold mountain with me in tow. Bo'sun grabbed our shoulders to stop us. "She's all set to marry Norrington, just like _she_ promised. And you get to die for her, just like _you_ promised. So we're all men of our word, really…except for Elizabeth, who is, in fact, a woman."

"Shut up," Barbossa snarled, waving his dagger. "Yeh're next." He gestured for his co-horts to lower Will back over the chest.

"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Jack said as Barbossa put his dagger against the young man's neck.

"No, I really think I do," Barbossa said facetiously.

"Your funeral," Jack shrugged.

There was a pause, then the other captain addressed him once more.

"_Why_ don't I want to be doing it?"

"Well, because—" Jack slapped Bo'sun's hand and the man let go of us both. We then started to climb the mountain of gold. "Because the _HMS Dauntless_, _pride_ of the Royal Navy, is floating just offshore, waiting for you."

I detected a bit of worry from Barbossa. Mortality was setting in. The crew started to clamor in a panicked way behind us.

"Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the _Dauntless_. They do what they do best."

The crew chuckled.

"Robert's your uncle, Fannie's your aunt. There you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue? But what of the _Pearl_? Name me captain. I'll sail under your colors. I'll give you ten percent of me plunder. And you get to introduce yourself as _Commodore_ Barbossa. Savvy?"

"I suppose in exchange, you want me not to kill the _whelp_?" Barbossa looked at Will.

"No, no, no. Not at all. By all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet," Jack instructed. "Wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment." He and Will exchanged glances. Then Jack looked back at Barbossa. "For instance…" he grabbed a handful of the coins, "after you've killed Norrington's men. Every," Jack tossed one back in, "last," another few, "one," then the next couple. But one stayed in his hand.

I heard some pirates chortling. I wondered if they had noticed it too. But then Jack tucked the coin up in his sleeve and waved his fingers to show that he wasn't holding onto it anymore.

"You've been planning this from the beginning," Will accused. "Ever since you learned my name!"

Jack tilted his head back and widened his eyes, not looking at anything or anyone in particular.

"Yeah," he said, looking back at Will.

There was a moment of silence, but Barbossa broke it.

"I want fifty percent of your plunder," he said.

"Fifteen!" Jack protested.

"Forty."

"Twenty-five! …I'll buy you the hat. A really big one…Commodore."

Barbossa smiled. But then he looked over Jack's shoulder at me.

"Where does the Lynch girl fit into all this?" he narrowed his eyes at Jack, who turned and sized me up as though just seeing me for the first time.

"Keegan? Hmm…" Jack touched the spot directly under his lip, as if in deep thought. "Well, I suppose that's entirely up to you. Though, if it were up to me, having just broken free of a terribly suffocating curse such as you and _your_ crew, there's only one thing I can positively say I'd do."

I gulped again as some of the pirates started laughing. Just the thought of someone like Kemp with his hands all over me was enough to almost make me vomit.

Barbossa looked at me, a strange mix of lust and anger in his eyes. I couldn't explain the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. Part of me was terrified of what could have been my future, provided Jack's plan didn't work out. Another small, sick part of me was almost excited. I'm telling you, there was something about that man that captivated me.

"You may have her aboard your ship for you or your men's pleasure," he continued. "Or both."

"YEEEEA!" the crew cheered. Their captain threw them a dirty look and they stopped, making me assume that if this actually happened, he would have kept me for himself.

"We have an accord," Barbossa said, shaking Jack's hand.

"All hands to the boats!" Jack threw his arms up in the air and then held them out to his sides, almost hitting me.

Barbossa stared at him incredulously. His crew didn't move a muscle.

"Apologies," Jack said, realizing he had stepped a bit out of line. He put his palms together and bowed toward Barbossa. "You give the orders."

The other man looked at him for a moment and turned to his crew with a bit of a smirk on his weather-beaten face.

"Gents…take a walk!" he commanded.

Jack and I exchanged worried glances. His plan was going awry. After this, our peanut-sized chance of clemency was going to be crushed into fine powder. I gulped while the pirates grumbled happily, some laughing, some cheering. I could just feel the hangman's noose getting tighter and tighter as they walked off.

"Not to the boats?" Jack asked.

* * *

"Once this cu'se is lifted, you're in for the luckiest night of you' life," muttered Kemp. I could feel his disgusting, hot, heavy breath on my cheek. He was tying my hands behind my back. That way it was a bit more difficult to untie myself, but I was sure I could do it. This man wasn't a particularly savvy knot-tier. "No wench could get enough of me. They say I'm quite a lovah."

_Must have been before you started smelling like that,_ I almost said.

"Tie 'em nice and tight, Kemp," Barbossa ordered, stepping over to us. "Then let me have a go. The Lynch women are rather apt at untyin' knots." I detected a double-entendre in his words, but he offered no further clarification. Instead, he just glared down at me.

Jack, Will, and I were being held in the cave by a few of Barbossa's men while the others got prepared to ambush the Royal Navy.

"She's ready for you, Cap'n," Kemp said, turning me around slowly, dragging his lips along the side of my face, making me shudder in disgust.

"Just as to be expected," Barbossa sighed. "She'd get out of these in a matter of minutes." And then he untied the rope binding my wrists, and started his own work.

A gasp escaped from my mouth as he pulled the rope tight. Will had just gotten cloth and I'm pretty sure Jack was left unrestrained. But I figured, as Jack condemned me to be the ship's wench, they decided I had to be tied up to know my place.

"_That's_ how ye tie a knot, Kemp," Barbossa said, adding the last touches.

I gasped again as he pulled even tighter. I was sure my poor wrists would be raw. He had made sure to keep my cuffs out from under the knot. It was just rope on skin.

From a short distance away, I locked eyes with Will. He gave me a look of sympathy. "You've got'a make 'em _bleed_," Barbossa hissed in my ear. He then grabbed my arms and yanked me to the side, shoving me face first onto the mountain of gold, whose base I had been previously standing on.

"Don't hurt her!" Will roared. I looked up and saw him struggling against the man who was holding him. It was nice to see him trying to defend me.

"Yer not in any place to be makin' any orders, Turner," Barbossa said calmly as I squirmed over onto my back and sat up. He then sat down nearby and made himself comfortable. I tried to angle myself away from him so I could start untying the knots without him knowing, but there were two of his men standing close by—Kemp and the man with the ignited beard. I needed a proper distraction.

I wondered where Jack was. Narrowing my eyes, I looked around the cave and then heard the sound of rustling. Faintly, I could see Jack scavenging through the treasure. He picked up what looked like a fertility statue and examined it.

"I must admit, Jack, I thought I had you figured," Barbossa said, breaking the newfound silence. "But it turns out you're a hard man to predict."

"Me? I'm dishonest," Jack started walking closer.

I took this as my opportunity to start working with the ropes. It wasn't an easy battle to fight. Barbossa knew how to tie a knot… But tarry, I did not. Even when my hands started getting a little slick from the blood.

"And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest," Jack tossed the statue off to the side. "Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for." He came up behind a man who was standing by the edge of the water, trying to skip rocks. "Because you can never predict…when they're gonna do something incredibly…" he looked at Will, "stupid."

He grabbed one of the pirate's swords and kicked him into the water. Then he passed the sword to Will, who caught it and bumped the pirate guarding him into the water as well. From beside me, Barbossa looked surprised that all this was happening. And as Jack stepped closer to him, he got up and pulled out his own sword.

The man with the burning beard swung his sword at Will, who turned around and let the man cut his bindings off. And soon, he was taking on three men at once—the man with the beard, a bald man, and Kemp.

That left me alone to struggle with my knots and bloody hands. I was making a bit of progress, loosening up the rope as I squirmed, trying not to get any blood on the back of my clothes.

I looked up when I heard Jack laughing to himself. He had just sliced off some of Barbossa's ostrich plumes. The latter looked utterly displeased and then reinitiated the fight.

I changed focus to the man with the burning beard. He was now standing in a beam of moonlight. His skeletal form was most grotesque.

"AAAAH!" he shouted to intimidate. Will just swung his sword at him.

As I continued to loosen the knots, Barbossa and Jack parried their way over to the lick of rock across a pool of water from me. It was amazing to watch them fight. Both of them were truly skilled.

"You're off the edge of the map, mate," Barbossa said as their blades were crossed. "Here there be monsters!" He twirled Jack around and pushed him away.

Finally, I was able to slide my hands out of the bindings and I stood up to survey the damage. The skin on my wrists was torn. Blood was slowly seeping out, covering my hands and staining the sleeves of my poet shirt. It stung when I moved my hands, but I knew I just had to grin and bear it.

Kemp, who had noticed that I was up, left Will alone and started to run towards me. I leapt off the base of the mountain and onto the place where Barbossa and Jack had just been. I pulled out my sword and waited for Kemp to meet me there.

He was as good at sword fighting as he was tying knots. _I_ was a better swordsman than him. I easily disarmed him, trying hard to ignore all the pain on my wrists. I put the tip of my blade under his chin and glared at him. He started laughing.

"Neat lit'le trick you've got there, gi'l," he said. "But I can't die. Threat'nin' me ain't gonna do—"

I quickly retracted my sword and then stabbed him right in the groin. Kemp yelled out in pain and fell to his knees. I pulled out my sword and grabbed a lock of his sparse dark brown hair in my hand. Then I swiftly decapitated him, holding his head up and dropping it down, kicking it far away. Judging by the screams emitting from the head, and the fact that the body was staggering to its feet, he wasn't yet dead. But the body tried to run toward its head—which had collided with the bald man's own noggin—and clumsily fell into one of the pools of water.

Satisfied, I smiled at my handiwork and then turned around to see Barbossa and Jack fighting up a hill nearby. Right before they would've gone through a beam of moonlight, Barbossa knocked Jack down. A few more parries were involved, then the former kicked the latter and dropped his own sword. I ventured a bit closer after checking to see if anyone had noticed I was open. I could've gone to help Will, but I let my curiosity get the best of me.

"Ya can't beat me, Jack," Barbossa held out his arms. But then his partner got to his feet and stabbed him through the stomach.

"HA!" he grunted.

Barbossa looked down at the sword protruding through his trunk. He looked up, as though disinterested, and sighed. Then he took the sword out and jabbed it into Jack with a great yell.

"No!" I gasped, covering my mouth, forgetting I had seen him take the coin.

I watched in horror as Jack wobbled back a few steps, into the moonlight. His body soon changed in a most horrifying way. He held up one of his boney hands and examined it in the light.

"That's interesting," he said.

I heard someone get hit and then thrown into the water behind me, but I didn't investigate. I was too busy watching Jack hold up his other hand and roll the Aztec gold coin he took over his fingers.

"I couldn't resist, mate," he explained to Barbossa.

But before I could be relieved that he was now a skeleton, just like Barbossa and his men, Kemp's body came out of the water and grabbed onto my ankles, pulling me onto the ground on my stomach. The wind was knocked out of me for the moment being. My fingernails scraped at the rock that was once below my feet. I tried to find some groove to dig into so that I could possibly pull myself free. But luck was not on my side and I found myself sucking in as much air as I possibly could before I fell into the water—that was deeper than one might think.

I opened my eyes and saw my hair flowing out in my peripheral vision. Kemp's body was nowhere to be found…until he shot upward and grabbed onto my neck. I almost screamed as he throttled me, but tried to hold onto my air. It was only going to last for a short bit of time.

Instead, I plunged my blade into Kemp's shoulder. His hands released me and I hurried to the surface, gasping for air. Quickly, I latched onto a rock just on the edge of the pool and held on for dear life. I could feel Kemp tugging on one of my ankles.

I managed to kick him off and then clambered out of the water, taking deep breaths and pushing my wet hair out of my face. Not relenting, Kemp jumped up into the air and I grabbed onto the handle of my sword and kicked him away with both of my feet. He fell back into the water and I got to my feet, going over to help Will.

He was being chased up a small hill by two pirates; meanwhile, one was struggling with a large goblet-thing on his head. I pulled it off and the man growled at me. He was the same one whom Jack stole a sword from.

I fought defensively with him—much too exhausted to do anything on the offensive side. I let him wear himself out while I mainly focused on dodging his attacks. The pirate and I moved about in a circle and I noticed that Kemp's body had risen from the water and was making its clumsy way over towards us. How strange it was that he was more graceful in the water without his head than he was on land.

The pirate I was dueling started to pant and I angled myself so that the man would be right in front of Kemp. Finally, I stabbed him in the chest and kicked him off my sword and onto his rancid crewmate. They both tumbled back into the deep little pool.

I turned around and saw Barbossa falling onto a rock smack-dab in the middle of a beam of moonlight. As he lay there, catching his breath, he looked up at Jack.

"So, what now, Jack Sparrow? Are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until judgment day and trumpets sound, hmm?" he asked, jerking his chin up.

"Or you could surrender," Jack suggested.

He swung his sword down and Barbossa dodged it, getting up to his feet. I would've continued watching their duel, but just then, Kemp's body resurfaced. Only this time, he didn't go for me. He stumbled over to where his head was, rolling around on the ground, barking directions at him. But the other pirate came up too and snarled as he lunged at me.

"AAAAAHHH!" Barbossa shouted, distracting my attacker.

I took advantage of the distraction and started swinging at the other pirate. I had gained my second wind and wanted to show what I was capable of. After many parries and blocks, I was able to disarm the man. I sent his sword flying. He stared at me and let out a great roar, lunging at me, wrapping his hands around my throat as something exploded not far from us.

I let go of my sword and tucked my knees up to my chest, trying to get him off me. I scratched at his hands and then managed to pry them off. Quickly, I rolled over and straddled him, my knees pressing into his arms. I reached beside me for my sword and stood up, allowing him to stand as well. But as soon as he was up, I stabbed him through the neck, pulled my sword out, and kicked him back into the water.

"I'm gonna teach you the meaning of pain!" said the man with the beard as he headed toward Will, who was on the ground.

"Do you like pain?"

I smirked as Elizabeth came out of nowhere and swung a pole at him, hitting him in the head. He fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Try wearing a corset," she added, tipping the end of the pole towards Will so she could help him up.

They both smiled at each other, but turned their heads to the sound of Barbossa and Jack's swords clinking against each other. They were dueling in a much shallower pool of water.

"Whose side is Jack on?" Elizabeth asked, noticing his boney body.

"At the moment?" Will shrugged.

Elizabeth ran off to where the other two pirates were congregating in the moonlight. Will and I followed after her. I could hear the sound of footsteps behind me and I jumped out of the way as the pirate from before swung at me. I fought with him and moved him over towards his crewmates. Elizabeth and Will both used the pole, while I continued sword fighting. And once the three pirates were lined up, the two lovebirds skewered them with the pole.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the bald one screamed. He threw down his sword and pulled on the pole, making my dueling partner slide forward.

I noticed a small bomb on the ground. It was lit and almost ready to blow, so I stuck it into the man with the beard's open ribcage. Then, with Elizabeth and Will's help, I pushed the three pirates out of the moonlight. The bearded one pawed at his stomach and looked up at me.

"No fair," he whimpered before the bomb exploded, shattering them into a million pieces.

Elizabeth and Will smiled at themselves. I smirked a little, myself. But then I remembered…

"Kemp!" I gasped, pulling my sword out and searching for the rancid pirate.

"Over here, lit'le gi'l!" he called, his hand back on his shoulders. He was a little ways away, waving at me.

I pushed past Will and ran towards him. Elizabeth and the boy ran towards the mountain of gold. I met Kemp and we parried a little more. But I was fortunate enough to be able to cut his head off once more. I had grabbed at his hair once more when a gunshot rang out.

I looked to the sound and saw Barbossa standing with his gun out towards Elizabeth, who was standing on a stone in shock. But it was Jack's weapon that had smoke coming out of it.

"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot," Barbossa sneered.

"He didn't waste it," Will said from the mountain. He was holding the dagger in one hand while one fist was held out over the chest. He flattened his hand and two bloody coins fell.

I looked at Kemp and saw that his eyes had rolled back into his head. His body fell to the ground. I let go of his hair and cringed. I started to walk towards the mountain, passing Elizabeth on the stepping stones. I stopped right at Jack's shoulder.

Barbossa dropped his sword and pulled his coat open. There was a hole in his poet shirt. Blood started gushing out of the hole, staining the white fabric. He looked up at Jack and gave a small sniff, then looked at me.

"Ash," he said, staring into my eyes as Jack slowly lowered his gun. He reached out a hand toward me. "I feel…cold."

And with that, Barbossa fell backward, onto the treasure he had piled up over the years. A green apple fell from his sleeve and rolled away. He must have been saving it for after the curse lifted.

I stepped closer and crouched down beside him, half expecting him to jolt up, not truly dead. I chewed on my lip and looked at Barbossa's face. His eyes stared up at no one. I gulped and leaned into his ear.

"Give my mother a kiss for me," I muttered, standing back up to find Jack staring at me. I was ready to get out of the cave and walked past him.

"Keegan," Will said, stopping me in my tracks. He traipsed down the mountain of gold and came up behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Let me help you."

Confused, I turned around. He looked down at my wrists. Without another word, he took me to a small pool of water and rinsed off the skin. They weren't bleeding as much, but that didn't stop him from gesturing to the large bandana wrapped around my waist. I untied it and let him cut down the length of it. I noticed that there were some bloodstains on it. Will ripped the strip in two and wrapped each around my wrists.

"Thank you," I smiled at him. "Your kindness is something I'll never forget." Over his shoulder, I could see Elizabeth staring at him. When she noticed me looking, she turned around and gazed at a pile of treasure.

"It's the least I can do," Will said. "I'm sorry your fate must be the way it is. You're a benevolent woman who doesn't deserve to get the hangman's noose."

My heart sank and my face fell. In the joy of beating the cursed pirates, I had forgotten about Jack's and my fate if we couldn't get back on the _Pearl_. I looked at Will with a sad smile, putting my hand on his cheek and kissing his forehead. I jerked my head over towards Elizabeth.

"G'wan," I whispered.

He looked over his shoulder and then turned back to me. With a nod, he stood up from where he was crouched before the water and slowly made his way toward the girl.

I stood up myself and decided to find Jack after I retied my bandana around my waist. It wasn't too difficult a task, as he was noisily looking through a bunch of Barbossa's treasure. I walked over to him and smirked as he fit a crown on his head. He was wearing several necklaces and holding onto several gold things. He walked past me and over to Will. I followed him just as Elizabeth headed out of the cave.

"If you were waiting for the opportune moment…" Jack said to the boy, "that was it…" He continued walking on. "Now, if you'd be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop Keegan and me off at my ship."

If Gibbs and the rest of the crew had managed to overtake the _Black Pearl_, they didn't stick around to wait for us. No, they kept to the Code, leaving with our very last chance at escaping the noose.

Jack and I sat in a longboat. He still had his gold with him, in spite of our situation. I heaved a great sigh and chewed on the inside of my cheek.

"I'm sorry, you two," Elizabeth said while Will rowed us towards the _Dauntless_.

"They done what's right by them," Jack said. "Can't expect more than that."

* * *

Made this extra long because I love you guys! Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! And special thanks to XandriaValentina for being awesome and inspiring me to write!


	9. Nice Hat

**"I've had a** bit of time to think since we've been locked up and I can't help but wonder, Jack, what exactly was my purpose on this adventure?" I asked, pacing the cell were in.

Jack looked up at me from the ground where he sat. His eyes shifted around and my stomach began to turn. I was trying to make sense of everything that had happened and all it was doing was causing my blood to boil.

"You knew," I turned towards him. "You knew that he was the man my mother left. You knew and _that's_ why you brought me along. You _used_ me to get revenge on Barbossa."

"No sense in getting angry with me now. In case you forgot, we're in line for the gallows," Jack muttered.

"You're despicable," I spat.

"Sticks and stones, love."

"Was that the only reason you convinced me to join you?" I asked.

Jack shrugged. "Numbers. And now that I think of it, I can't say I don't enjoy your company either. You're very nice to look at."

"Shut up," I spat out icily. "What if he'd tried to kill me instead of marooning me?"

Jack shrugged again and looked out of the cell, as if expecting Will to come and save him again. But the only movement on the other side of the bars was the patrolling guard. I sat down in the corner and curled up in a ball.

* * *

_Dum. Dum. Da-da-dum. Dum. Dum. Da-da-dum._

"'Jack Sparrow, be it known that you have been charged'—"

"_Captain_. _Captain_ Jack Sparrow," Jack corrected beside me.

I stared down at my feet and didn't pay attention. The town clerk had already read my crimes and was working on Jack's.

"—'and convicted for your willful commission of crimes against the crown'."

I looked into the crowd and was intrigued to see a young man cutting through everybody. The distinguishing features: his large hat with a feather in it and a red cape.

"'Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to be cited herewith. Piracy, smuggling…"

I stopped paying attention and looked down at my wrists. Fortunately, my bandages had not been removed and the cloth holding me was tied over them, causing me not nearly as much pain. The knot looked easy enough to untie, but what good would it do? I couldn't take on all of these guards. Especially not without Jack. And where would I go if I did have the good fortune to escape? I'd be caught and brought back here, so why waste my remaining time and energy?

I was to die that day, and that was final.

The flapping sound of a bird flying nearby caught my ears. I looked over and tried to smile sadly to myself as I saw Cotton's parrot landing on a flag post. It squawked and relieved itself on the red coat of Mullroy, who was holding the post with Murtogg, of course.

If Cotton's parrot was there, then that had to have meant that Cotton was close. And if Cotton was close, then so was the crew. And if the crew was nearby, then that meant the _Black Pearl_ was in port.

"'And for these crimes, you have been sentenced to be, on this day, hung by the neck until dead'. May God have mercy on your souls…"

But my hopes were dashed. How could we possibly be saved? Especially now that the repetitive beat was turning into a speedy drum roll.

The executioner pulled the noose over my head and I took a deep breath. I had spent the night preparing myself for my last moments.

I felt Jack's eyes on me and I turned to look at him. He offered me a crooked smile, but I just mouthed a goodbye. I was still angry with him, but there was nothing to do. I would join my parents in Fiddler's Green.

_SHING!_

I flashed my eyes over to the man with the hat as the audience clamored and saw that it was Will raising a sword in the air. He picked up my own from the wagon with our effects on it and threw them one at a time under our respective trapdoors.

Never a more opportune moment such as that, considering the hangman had just pulled the lever.

We dropped down and I felt the rope constricting around my throat. The blade beneath my feet was slippery, but it was enough to keep my neck from breaking. I hurried to untie my wrists as Will climbed the stairs to the gallows. The executioner ran at him with his axe. They fought around Jack, who was trying to formulate a plan to get out of there.

Easily, I freed my hands and tried to loosen the noose. I threw it off and jumped onto the ground below me just as the executioner's axe hit Jack's rope tied around the post. With a gurgle, Jack touched down to the ground as well.

He used the sword to cut off his ropes as I pulled my own blade out. I ran to the wagon, near where the executioner lay atop some townspeople, having been thrown off the gallows. I grabbed my scabbard and attached it to my waist.

Behind me, Jack and Will held the opposite ends of what used to be Jack's noose. They ran past me and used it to trip several of the soldiers. One came tearing up to me, his bayonet at the ready. I ducked and he tripped over my back. I caught up to Jack and Will where they stood behind a pillar, two guards with the wind taken out of their sails slumped on the other side.

Another soldier came up to me and I started to fight with him. I slashed his side and did a somersault with Jack and Will, gong behind another pillar, only this time, the remaining soldiers circled around us, their bayonets pointed. Will and I still had our blades out and we turned around, sliding our swords on the guns.

Norrington slipped through and pointed his own weapon at Will. "I thought we might have to endure some matter of ill-conceived escape attempt." I turned and watched as Governor Swann came into the circle as well. "But not from _you_."

"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency. And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with _them_? They're _pirates_," Governor Swann said.

"And good people," Will retorted, clearly turned around from his earlier position on pirates. He threw his sword on the ground and I sheathed mine. "If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn three pairs of boots instead of two, so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

Elizabeth, who was watching by the pillar, smiled.

"You forget your place, Turner," Norrington seethed.

"It's right here," Will continued, "between you, Keegan, and Jack."

Elizabeth boldly stepped forward and grabbed his hand. "As is mine."

"Elizabeth," Governor Swann spoke up. "Lower your weapons. For goodness' sake, put them down!"

The soldiers did as they were told.

"So, this is where your heart truly lies, then?" Norrington asked in a heartbroken way.

"It is," Elizabeth said, nodding her head.

As I stared up at Cotton's parrot on a cannon up above, I was surprised by how indifferent I felt. I should have been happy. I should have been relieved that we were going to escape. But I still couldn't muster up a smile.

The parrot flew off and Jack beside me started talking.

"Well! I'm actually feeling rather good about this," Jack stepped around and headed up to the Governor. "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh?"

"Ugh," he groaned, leaning away from Jack's breath.

"Spiritually. Ecumenically. Grammatically." Now Jack turned to Norrington. "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate… Know that." He stepped back over to us. "Elizabeth…it would never have worked between us, darling."

The disgusted look on her face almost made me grin.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. He grabbed my elbow and took me with him as he headed up to the perch.

"Will," I said, turning around. "Nice hat."

The young man smiled at me. I almost threw my arms around him, but Jack tugged me up to the top of the perch, the soldiers halfheartedly chasing us.

"Friends," Jack continued. "This is the day that you will _always_ remember as the day that y—"

Jack tumbled backwards, taking me with him. He let go of my arm before we hit the water. I reached the surface first and whipped my hair back.

"Sail 'o!" someone from up above shouted after Jack popped up nearby me.

We turned and saw the _Pearl_ heading toward us. Jack smiled and started swimming toward it. I followed him and eventually we met up with the ship. Some of the crew was leaning over the railing to meet us. Cotton threw a line down. Jack grabbed it and pulled me closer to him. He wrapped my arms around his shoulders and I clung to him.

We were thrust up into the air and then we landed not so smoothly by the helm. I untangled myself from Jack's limbs and rolled onto my haunches beside him. Gibbs raced up the stairs to meet us.

"Thought you were s'posed to keep to the Code," Jack said in an annoyed tone. His father was the Keeper of the Pirata Codex, so I understood why he was a bit of a stickler.

"We figured they were more actual…guidelines," Gibbs explained, the crew joining us. He chuckled and held out a hand to help Jack up.

Cotton handed the captain his beloved hat.

"Thank you," Jack muttered.

"Miss Keegan," Gibbs smirked, stepping over to me. His face fell when he saw me. He extended his arm and I grasped onto it. He held me close to his chest and I rested my cheek tiredly against his furry face.

"Captain Sparrow," Anamaria said, her arm draped over the wheel. Then she got off it and put Jack's coat around his shoulders. "The _Black Pearl_ is yours."

He jaunted over to the helm and rubbed it affectionately. Then he seemed to remember that he was a captain, and that he had a crew to command, and that the Royal Navy was most likely coming after us.

"On deck, you scabrous dogs! Hands to braces! Let down and haul to run free!" Jack hollered.

Kissing the top of my head, Gibbs let go of me and ran off with the rest of the crew. I remained where I stood, staring out at the water with the wind blowing in my hair.

"Now, bring me that horizon," Jack murmured. He started to hum the song that he and Elizabeth had been caterwauling on the island. I glanced over to see him checking his compass. "_And really bad eggs… Drink up, me hearties, yo ho._"

* * *

Sorry if this is kinda shitty... I just wanna get right to _At World's End_, haha


	10. The Mooring Line

** Several months had** passed since Jack and I had fallen off the edge of the fort. Several events had occurred. Several crew members had come and gone.

But my life was still like a dark cloud.

I couldn't find something to stay happy about. Every bad thing that had ever happened to me was coming back. My dreams were haunted with memories of close-calls. I wanted to escape it, but I didn't know how.

Not long after losing the Royal Navy in a deadly hurricane off the coast of Tripoli, Jack had been scheming. We soon found ourselves anchored nearby a Turkish prison.

"_Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. A-yo ho ho and a _bottle_ of rum_."

I picked my head up to find the source of the gruff chanting. I had been sitting on a barrel, folding my arms on the railing and staring into the dark, misty night.

"_Drink and the devil had done _for the rest_. A-yo ho ho and a _bottle_ of rum_," Gibbs continued, cackling after those last lines and taking a swig from his own bottle. He was slowly making his way across the deck.

A bell tolled in the distance and we both turned to look.

A flock of birds cawed on us. I looked up and saw them flying high above. They headed to the prison looming in the distance. I wondered if Jack would come back missing an eye.

All was quiet until a gunshot rang out. I peered into the fog and saw what looked like a man rowing a small boat. As the man got closer, I recognized the tricorn hat on his head. It was Jack, propelling himself with a skeleton leg.

"'E's back," Gibbs growled, a grin on his face. "JACK'S BACK!" Gibbs hollered.

Our crew came out of the woodwork and joined us on deck. Gibbs watched as Jack climbed up the ladder and he held his hand out to the captain. Jack gave him the skeleton leg and got up with no help.

"Not _quite_ according to plan," Gibbs said, checking over the leg.

"Complications arose, ensued," Jack said as Cotton draped Jack's coat over his shoulders, "were overcome."

Gibbs handed the leg to Cotton and followed the captain towards the capstan. I turned on my barrel and got up to join them.

"You got what you went in for, then?"

"Mm-hmm," Jack pulled out a rolled-up piece of cloth and wiggled it before us. He turned around and was met with the rest of crew, led by Leech—an Indian recruit who was losing his patience with the lack of treasure in our holds.

"Captain, I think the crew, meaning me as well, were expecting something a bit more…shiny," Gibbs fluttered his fingers, "what with the Isla de Muerta going all pear-shaped, reclaimed by the sea and the treasure with it."

"And the Royal Navy chasing us all around the Atlantic," Leech added.

"And the hurricane," Marty, our shortest crewman, said.

"Aye," the rest agreed.

"All in all, it seems some time since we did a speck of honest pirating," Gibbs continued.

Jack considered these words and leaned closer to his First Mate. "_Shiny_?"

"Aye, shiny."

"Is that how you're all feeling, then? That perhaps dear, old Jack is not serving your best interests as captain?"

No one said a word. But then Cotton's parrot opened its beak.

"_Squawk!_ Walk the plank!"

Cotton put his hand on his pet's beak, grimacing in embarrassment. Jack, meanwhile, pulled out his trusty pistol and pointed it at the animal.

"What did the bird say?!" he yelped.

"Do not blame the bird. Show us what is on that piece of cloth there," Leech commanded.

Jack gave him a defiant look. But before anything could be done, Monkey Jack—still cursed—swung down and screeched in Human Jack's face. The captain yelled and shot at the creature. It grabbed the piece of cloth and scurried away. Jack pulled a pistol out of another crewman's pants and shot the monkey, who let go of his hostage.

"You know that does no good," I commented at Jack's shoulder.

"It does me," he responded as Marty ran to collect the cloth prize.

"It's a key," the small pirate remarked, examining it.

"No," Jack jaunted over to him. "Much more better. It is a _drawing_ of a key." The captain held said drawing up to display it to the rest of us. Most of the crew behind me stepped forward, but I stayed put. "Gentlemen—lady—what do keys do?"

"…Keys…unlock…things?" Leech said without an ounce of confidence. I rolled my eyes.

"And whatever this key unlocks, _inside_ there's something valuable. So we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks," Gibbs guessed.

"No," Jack pointed at him, stepping closer. "If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever it is we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?"

"So, we're going after this key!" Gibbs said excitedly.

"You're not making any sense at all," Jack said ironically. "Any more questions?"

"So…do we have a heading?" Marty asked.

"Ha—a heading," Jack pulled out his compass. "Set sail in a…general…" he kept moving his pointed finger, showing how indecisive said compass was being, "that-way direction."

"Captain," Gibbs said, glancing towards the port side Jack had pointed to.

"Come on, snap to and make sail. You know how this works. Go on. Oi, oi, oi!" Jack made his way through the crowd.

Marty, Gibbs, and I stood at the railing and looked out.

"'ave you noticed lately…the captain seems to be acting a bit strange…er?" Marty asked, looking at us.

"Settin' sail without knowing his own heading. Something's got Jack vexed. And mark my words: What bodes ill for Jack Sparrow bodes ill for us all," Gibbs said ominously.

* * *

As promised to me before the great _Black Pearl _adventure, I was given a cabin in the ship. The room was small, but I didn't need much. I had a bed and a desk—already more than I desired. I spent many nights lying awake at night, just thinking. And when I wasn't thinking, my mind was still racing, filling my dreams with nightmares of death and fire.

I dreamt about the night my parents were killed—the night a man slashed my back open with his sword. I dreamt about an epic battle in the middle of a maelstrom. I even dreamt about Hector Barbossa, beckoning to me with the crook of his skeletal finger.

But this night was different.

Slowly…very slowly, I started to drift off into sleep. I had a dream where a man with dreadlocks walked deep into the holds of his ship, in search of something to quench his thirst. There, he met a man who seemed one with the flora and fauna of the ocean. The second man warned the first of a leviathan sent to settle a debt. He gave the man with dreadlocks the black spot on his hand and then left, sinking through the hull of the ship…

"ON DECK! SCURRY!"

I nearly rolled off my bunk. The sound of Jack hollering from the top of his lungs scared me awake.

"SCURRY! I WANT MOVEMENT!" Jack's voice got closer.

He must have been below deck. Wouldn't that have been something if he was coming from the holds?

"MOVEMENT! I WANT MOVEMENT!" Somehow, his voice got louder.

I sat on the edge of my mattress and pulled my boots up, hurrying to get up and get out of the grog.

"Lift the skin up! Keep your loof! Haul those sheets!" he shouted.

I went outside and saw Jack scrambling over to the mast.

"Run them! Run! Keep running! Run as if the devil himself and itself is upon us!" he shouted, stealing something from a crewman as he stood behind the capstan.

"Do we have a heading?" Gibbs asked, appearing from the other side of the capstan. I hurried over and stood next to him.

"AAH!" Jack yelled, turning his head to face his first mate. "Ooh! Run! Land!"

Gibbs and I exchanged glances as Jack cowered behind the capstan. The older man went over to the side of the capstan. Jack popped up suddenly.

"Aah!" he whimpered.

"Ooh," Gibbs jumped. "Which port?"

"I didn't say 'port', I said 'land'! Any land!" Jack responded.

Then Monkey Jack came swinging by on a line, screeching as he grabbed Human Jack's hat.

"AAH!"

Monkey Jack climbed onto the rigging and screeched again. Human Jack hissed, and in response, Monkey Jack threw the hat into the water. Knowing this would be a crisis, Gibbs and I ran to the railing and watched as the hat floated on the water. Some of the crew joined us.

"Jack's hat! Bring her about!" Gibbs said, moving away.

"No, no! Leave it!" Jack surprised us all so much, we stopped in our tracks. "…Run!"

He scampered off towards his quarters. Gibbs turned to face the crew.

"Back to your stations," he ordered, "the lot of ya!"

But I wasn't going anywhere. I looked at the older man and followed him as he searched for Jack. We went over to the stairs leading up to the helm. I sighed at what we found. Jack was pressed against the window behind him, looking scared to death.

"Jack?" I whispered.

"Shh," he replied.

"For the love of mother and child, Jack," Gibbs said, drawing a bit closer, "what's coming after us?"

Jack looked at him, fear more than present in his countenance.

"Nothing," he lied.

* * *

We had landed on the closest island we could find. Gibbs was preparing the crew to go on the sand and set up camp. He found me sitting on my favorite barrel and sidled up to me.

"There's a chill in me bones says we won't be stayin' here long. And I'm sure we'll be needin' someone to fend off any thieves an' beggars while we're tied up here," he said, giving me a sidelong glance.

"I thought having a woman onboard was bad luck," I said, not taking my eyes off the whitecaps.

"I'll give ye a pass."

Gibbs squeezed my shoulder and walked off. I could hear the crew mulling about, climbing over the side of the ship to get down.

Eventually, the noise of the crew died down and I watched as Gibbs, bringing up the rear, turned back before entering the trees. He waved an arm at me and I raised my hand. Gibbs faced forward and followed the rest of the crew into the great unknown.

I spent the next few days on the deck, retiring to my cabin at night and entering the kitchens when I was hungry. I saw neither hide nor hair of our crew, or any other human being. Not until a familiar face came riding the waves and onto the shore.

The sound of splashing was what woke me from my daydream. I looked over the railing and couldn't believe my eyes. Will Turner was walking out of the water, glaring over his shoulder at something.

I felt the corner of my lips start to twitch. It had been so long since I had smiled that it almost hurt just doing that much. I stood up from my barrel and prepared myself to meet the young man. I had so many questions for him.

"JACK!" Will shouted. "JACK SPARROW!"

"Will," I said, leaning over the edge of the railing.

"Keegan? Where is everyone?" Will asked. "Where's Jack?"

"They went into the island days ago. I haven't seen them since."

"What are they doing?"

"I couldn't tell you."

"Did they just leave you here?"

"No," I shrugged. "Not really. I elected to stay back as lookout."

"I see," Will nodded. "Fancy a trip in there with me?"

"But then who will fend the ship off from thieves and beggars?" I asked, joking for the first time in a while. "Never shall we die, mate."

Will, clearly not knowing the song that brings the Brethren Court together, just stared at me in confusion for a moment. "I'll be back."

"And I'll be right here," I promised.

* * *

My skin was red and hot to the touch. These days of sitting out in the sun were doing a number on me and my complexion. With my sleeves rolled up to my elbows, my forearms were starting to freckle.

I tightened the green bandana around my waist and stood up to stretch out my legs. As I did so, I heard the sound of jingling. I looked over the railing and saw a dog shaking water off itself, a ring of keys in its mouth.

_Where did that come from?_

Then I heard the dulcet tones of two shrill voices arguing above the crash of the waves. I looked out and saw a longboat tipping over in a wave, one of its passengers jumping off the back, one falling out of the front.

They let the waves take them onto the beach and I got a good look at them. Will would not be the only familiar face I'd come across.

"CAH'MON!" shouted Pintel, laughing with Ragetti as they reached the lines. "It's ours for the taking!"

I never thought I'd actually have to guard the ship from anyone.

"Tide's comin' in. That should 'elp. And salvaging _is_ saving, in a manner of speaking," Ragetti said.

"_There's_ the troof of it!"

I watched the chortling pirates head for another line and I was about to grab the handle of my sword when the drums started beating in the distance.

"Suppose we better save it as soon as we can, what wiv our souls in such a vulnerable state and all," Ragetti suggested.

Pintel started to do the Sign of the Cross wildly, "Amen to that." He ran off with the dog and Ragetti started to climb up the rope.

I quietly unsheathed my sword and decided to surprise the two. I hid beneath the stairs up to the helm and watched as Ragetti pulled himself onto the deck, giggling as he prepared to commandeer the ship.

Jack the Monkey crawled onto my shoulder, having stayed onboard to keep me company. I pointed to Ragetti and Jack knew exactly what to do.

The monkey scrambled over to Ragetti and jumped on the scrawny man's back, surprising him so much that his head jerked forward and his wooden eye fell out.

"HAUL LOOSE THE _MOORING LINE_!" Pintel shouted from down below. "THE _MOORING LINE_!"

I watched as Jack the Monkey chased the eye as it rolled across the deck. I came out of my hiding spot as the monkey grabbed the eye and sat on a cannon.

"Thief! Lit'le hairy thief! Give it back!" Ragetti hollered on his hands and knees. "Don't bite it!"

"HAUL LOOSE THE _MOORING_ _LINE_!"

Ragetti jumped to his feet and went to the railing.

"He's got me eye! He won't give it back!"

"WELL, HOW'D YOU GET IT BACK LAST TIME?" Pintel retorted as I came up behind Ragetti and put my blade up to his neck.

Then I saw the crew—significantly smaller than the last I'd seen of them—rushing past the other pirate.

"Excellent! Our work's half done," Gibbs said.

"We done it for you, knowing you'd be coming back," Pintel lied, his voice up an octave.

Ragetti turned and I put the tip of my sword under his chin.

"I won't tell if you help us get out of here," I offered.

"Deal," Ragetti nodded carefully.

"MAKE READY TO SAIL, BOYS!" Gibbs yelled.

"WHAT ABOUT JACK? I WON'T LEAVE WITHOUT HIM!" Will yelled back.

"OI!"

Ragetti and I looked out and saw Jack's figure running across the beach at us. But he was followed by a horde of tribesman—the Pelegostos cannibals, to be specific.

"CAST OFF THOSE LINES!" Gibbs shrieked.

Ragetti and I got to hauling loose the mooring line as the yelling of the tribe got louder and closer.

"MAKE READY TO CAST OFF!"

"OI!"

The dog started barking, but that didn't distract me from getting the ship ready to get away from the Isla de Pelegosto as fast as we could.

Jack screamed as he ran up to his ship. He started to climb up the rigging and I watched as the tribe stopped in defeat.

"Alas, my children," Jack said, "this is the day you shall always remember as the day that you _almost_—"

A wave crashed over him.

"…Captain Jack Sparrow," said the sopping wet pirate.

The Pelegostos groaned and mourned the loss of their potential victims. But then the dog barked again and they found a new target.

I turned away and watched as Jack hoisted himself over the railing. Gibbs came up to them and they walked. I followed them across the deck, intent on fulfilling yet another promise.

"Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea," Gibbs suggested.

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible," Jack said as Pintel and Ragetti put his coat over his shoulders. When he turned his head, Pintel saluted.

"That seems a bit contradictory, Captain," I piped up.

"Ah, Miss Keegan. So you do have a voice after all," Jack looked at me. He acted as if this was the first time I had spoken since we were locked in the jail cell together. "I did tell you that you could steer the ship and some of the time I am a man of my word. I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills. Now, where is that monkey? I want to shoot it."

There was a screech and Ragetti's eye fell down between our feet. The pirate squatted down and picked it up, spitting on the eye before popping it back into his socket. I looked up and saw Monkey Jack climbing on the rigging up above.

I headed up to the helm and passed Will on the way. I put my hands on the pegs of the wheel and started steering. Not too far out into the water, but not too close to the shore.

"…She _is_ locked up—in a prison. Bound to hang for helping _you_," I heard Will say as he followed the captain up the stairs. I could only assume they were talking about Miss Swann. Or was it Mrs. Turner now?

"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes," Jack said defiantly.

Will reached into a crewman's scabbard and pulled out his sword, pointing it at the captain. "I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."

Jack stared at him, forcing the sword away from his neck. "Keegan."

"Captain," I said, turning to him.

"We have a need to travel upriver," Jack muttered in my ear.

I had a feeling I knew what he was talking about.

"By need, do you mean a _trifling_ need? Fleeting? As in, say, a passing fancy?" Gibbs came over, his chin over my other shoulder.

"No. A resolute and unyielding need."

"Yeh know where to go?" Gibbs asked me as Jack stepped forward.

"I've heard enough stories," I said.

"What we need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste," Will cut in, standing next to Jack.

"William, I shall trade you the compass if you will help me to find this," Jack said slowly. I couldn't see what he was showing Will, but I had a feeling it was the drawing of the key.

"You want me to find this?"

"No. _You_ want you to find this, because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating in your discovery the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle, ol' what's-her-face. Savvy?"

"…_This_ is going to save Elizabeth?"

"How much do you know about Davy Jones?"

"Not much."

"Yeah, it's going to save Elizabeth."

* * *

I AM SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER. Hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon. I put SO much into this chapter, so I'm already, like, a quarter of the way through


	11. A Touch Of Destiny

** "Why is Jack **afraid of the open ocean?" Will asked Gibbs. He had just told me that he and Elizabeth were robbed of their wedding day by Lord Cutler Beckett—the man who gave Jack the pirate brand on his forearm. Will explained that to save his one true love, he needed to retrieve Jack's compass, which I had gathered from earlier. That was the only reason he had joined us.

We were currently in longboats, making our way through the Pantano River that led to the home of the one and only Tia Dalma. I had never met her, but I had heard many tales of her obeah magic. She was, in fact, the woman who gave Jack his compass.

"Well, if you believe such things, there's a beast does the bidding of Davy Jones—a fearsome creature with giant tentacles that'll suction your face clean off," Gibbs said in his wonderful storytelling voice, using his hands to really illustrate, "and drag an entire ship down to the crushing darkness. The kraken."

Marty turned to look at him as Pintel and Ragetti exchanged worried glances. I saw that Will was lost in thought.

"They say the stench of its breath is l—" Gibbs shuddered. "Imagine, the last thing on God's green earth is the _roooar_ of the kraken and the reeking odor of a thousand rotting corpses."

Ragetti was visibly shaken.

"If you _believe_ such things," Gibbs repeated, pretending like he didn't believe it himself.

"And the key will spare him that?" Will asked.

"Well, that's the very question Jack wants answered. Bad enough even to go visit…her."

"Her?"

"Aye."

By the time we reached Tia Dalma's shack, it was dark out. Fireflies were out, zooming above the fog that rested atop the water's surface. Some of her neighbors were outside, watching us row by. Her porch was lit up, as if she knew that we were coming. And something inside of me made me think she _did_.

Jack's longboat hit the dock first and he got out to tie us up. "No worries, mates. Tia Dalma and I go way back. Thick as thieves. Nigh inseparable, we are. Were. Have been. Before."

Gibbs stepped up to the dock after him. Will helped me out and I stood behind him.

"I'll watch yer back," Gibbs promised.

"It's me front I'm worried about," Jack admitted.

"Mind the boat," Gibbs turned over his shoulder.

"Mind the boat," Will said to me.

"Mind the boat," I said to Ragetti, who said it to Pintel, who said it to Marty, who said it to Cotton's parrot, who said it to poor mute Cotton.

We climbed the ladder up to the shack and opened the door. Inside were many things—including a large yellow snake—most of which were cluttered around or strung up on the ceiling. The beautiful, dreadlocked woman in question was seated at a table, looking over scattered crab pieces. Nearby lay a crab-shaped music box. She raised her eyes and a smile creeped across her dotted face.

"Jaaaack Sparrooooow," she said, her voice sounding the door that he had creaked open.

"Tia Dalma," he responded, pretending to be excited to see her as he strode into the shack. He narrowly avoided hitting his head on a jar hanging from the ceiling.

"I always knew de wind was gwin blow ya back to me one dee," she stepped over to him her face falling when she saw Will beside me. "You," she pointed to him and he came closer. "You have a touch of _destiny_ about you, William Turnah."

"You know me?" Will asked.

"Ya want to know me," she said flirtatiously.

"There'll be no knowing here. We've come for help and we're not leaving without it," Jack interrupted, glaring at the young man. "I thought _I _knew you," Jack muttered as he walked Tia Dalma back to her table.

"Not so well as I 'ad hoped," Tia said. But then she stopped and turned her head, this time eyeing me. "Kee-gan Lynch, ya won't be needin' to look so sad for too long."

I cocked my head, but she just winked and kept going.

"Come," she said.

"Come," Jack repeated, gesturing for us all to go to the table.

Gibbs sidled up next to me, always protective over me as if I were still the four year-old girl he had bandaged up and took in the longboat the fateful night my parents had died.

"What…" Tia Dalma said as Will sat down in a chair, stroking his face, "ser-vice…may I do ya?" Then she looked up at Jack and her soothing voice became angry. "Ya know I demand payment."

"I brought payment," Jack said. He whistled and Pintel brought him a cage with a blanket over it. He took off the blanket and showed Monkey Jack held captive.

I almost smirked, remembering that in order to catch the furry little fiend, I had to stand still until he came to my shoulder. I was kind of down about the fact that we were giving him up, but I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last of him I saw.

"Look," Jack held the cage up and pulled out his pistol. He shot the monkey and it screeched, but was ultimately unhurt. "An undead monkey." He placed it on the table before her. "Top that."

Tia Dalma unlocked the cage and set the chirping monkey free.

"No!" Gibbs gasped. "You've no _idea_ how long it took us to catch that."

Monkey Jack climbed up on my shoulder and then jumped down, going into a side room. He climbed up on a familiar pair of boots and examined whoever was laying there. I leaned back, but was jolted back into focus on the conversation when Tia spoke again.

"The payment is fair," she moved the cage somewhere else.

"We're looking for this," Will said, taking out the drawing of the key and laying it flat on the table. Tia looked stunned. "And what it goes to."

"De compass ya bartered from me, it kyannot lead you to dis?" she addressed Jack, who was holding onto a familiar-looking hat.

"Maybe…" Jack responded defensively. "Why?"

Tia Dalma sat down with an amused grin spread out on her face. "IIIIII heeear yoou. Jack Sparow does not know what he _wants_. Ar do you know, but are loath to clyaim it as your own?"

Jack blew a tassel hanging down from the ceiling, refusing to respond to her declarations.

"Yer key go to a chyest. And it is what lay inside de chest you seek, don't it?"

"What is inside?" Gibbs asked enthusiastically.

"Gold?" Pintel guessed. "Jewels? Unclaimed properties of a valuable nature?"

"Nothing…bad…I hope?" Ragetti said nervously.

Tia Dalma leaned forward in her chair. "Ya know of…Davy Jones…yes? A man of de sea. A great sailah, until he run afoul of dat which vex all men."

"What vexes all men?" Will asked.

"Hmm," Tia put her hand over his. "What indeed?"

"W-the sea?" Gibbs said.

"Sums?" Pintel added.

"The dichotomy of good and evil?" Ragetti said.

I turned to him, impressed that he knew those words. But I was more impressed that I knew the answer to this. "A woman," I said.

"A woman," Tia Dalma repeated, looking up at me as if she knew something I didn't. "'E fell in love."

"No-no-no-no. I heard it was the _sea_ he fell in love with," Gibbs corrected.

"Same story, different versions, and all. Are. True," Tia sounded annoyed. "See, it was a woman," she brandished herself, "as chyanging and harsh and untamable as the sea. Him never stopped loving 'er. But the pyain it cause 'im was too much to live wid, but not enough to cause him to die."

"What exactly did he put into the chest?" Will asked, growing tired of the story.

"Him heart."

"Literally or figuratively?" Ragetti asked.

"He couldn't li'erally put his heart in a chest," Pintel retorted. Then he turned to the obeah woman. "Could he?"

"It was not wort' feeling what small, fleeting joy life brings," she said. "And so…him carve oat him heart, lock it away in a chyest and hide de chyest from de worl'. De key he keep wid him at all times."

Will stood up and faced Jack. "You knew this."

"I did not. I didn't know where the key was. But now we do. So all that's left is to climb aboard the _Flying Dutchman_, grab the key, you go back to Port Royal and save your bonny lass, eh?" Jack said, turning around.

"Let me see ya hand," Tia stood up and held her own out.

Jack tried to trick her by giving her his right hand, but her relentless gaze made him give her his left one, which I just noticed was tied with cloth. She unwrapped it and revealed the Black Spot.

Gibbs gasped. "The Black Spot!" He started wiping his hands on his vest and turning around, spitting on the floor.

Pintel and Ragetti moaned and did the same.

"The Black Spot!"

"Black Spot!"

"My eyesight's as good as ever, just so you know," Jack announced.

"I have just de ting," Tia said, disappearing into her shack. "Now, where did I put it?" She muttered to herself and raised a clatter. "My little beauty, where are _you_? Such a long time in such a mess."

I heard the screeching of Monkey Jack and glanced at him once more, wondering who those boots belonged to.

"Davy Jones kyannot make port," Tia Dalma said, coming back to us with a large glass jar full of dirt. "Kyannot step on land but once every ten years. Land is where you are safe, Jack Sparrow, and so you will cyarry land wid you."

Jack grabbed the gift and held it up, making sure it was actually what it was. "Dirt. This is a jar of dirt."

"Yes," Tia replied, just as confused as he was.

"Is the…jar of dirt going to help?"

"If ya don't want it, give it back," she challenged.

"No," Jack held it closer to him, not willing to take that risk.

"Den it helps," she smiled.

"It seems…we have a need to find the _Flying Dutchman_," Will said.

Tia Dalma sat back down and grabbed the pieces of crab and shook them in her hands, saying this before throwing them out on the table: "A touch…of _destiny_."

* * *

The rain was beating down on us and soaking us through and through. We anchored by a set of rocks that looked just like the crabs did. There was a destroyed ship nearby and Will was going to go aboard.

"_That's_ the _Flying Dutchman_?" he asked incredulously.

Gibbs and Jack nodded unconvincingly, but Will was gullible enough to believe it.

"She doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you," Jack responded. "Do not underestimate her." He elbowed Gibbs in the stomach.

"Must've run afoul of the reef," Gibbs puffed out.

"So what's your plan, then?"

"I row over, search the ship until I find your bloody key," Will told him.

"And if there are crewmen?"

"I cut down anyone in my path," Will walked away.

"I like it. Simple, easy to remember," Jack said.

Will climbed down into the longboat and met Ragetti, who was there to cast him off.

"Your chariot awaits you, sire!" the pirate cackled.

"Oi!" Jack hollered down. "If you _do_ happen to get captured, just say Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt. It might save your life."

I glared at Jack. It certainly would not.

"Bon voyage!" Ragetti continued to laugh wildly as Will rowed off with his lantern in the seat ahead of him.

"Douse the lamps," Jack ordered.

Not long after Will had left, we saw the _Dutchman_ emerge from the water. The ship was barnacled and shaped like a swordfish.

Jack and Gibbs were muttering to each other, glancing at me every once in a while. Gibbs seemed adamantly against whatever idea Jack had cooked up. I was a little curious to know what they were talking about.

"_No_."

"But why not?

"I said _no_!"

I stepped further away, grasping the wet railing. I couldn't see a single thing, no matter how much I squinted my eyes.

In my peripheral vision, I saw that Jack had pulled out his spyglass and was watching the events of the other ship. But then all of a sudden, Davy Jones himself—part-man, part-octopus, part-crustacean—was standing at the end of the glass.

I gasped and turned around, knocking into a slimy creature with the face of a hammerhead shark.

"'Ello, my sweet," he hissed in my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist.

The rest of the crew exclaimed as Davy Jones' men, all like the one I had a dream about, held them still.

"Oh," Jack said.

"You have a debt to pay," Davy Jones said in a thick, Scottish accent. "You've been captain of the _Black Pearl_ for thirteen years!" Jones kept stepping toward Jack, who inched backwards. "_That_ was our agreement."

"Technically I was only captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon," Jack pointed out.

"Then you were a poor captain, but a _captain_ nonetheless," Jones said. He started to walk around him. "Have you not introduced yourself all these years as _Captain Jack Sparrow_?"

His crew started chortling.

Jack turned around. "You have my payment. One soul to serve on your ship. He's already over there."

"One soul is not equal to another."

"Aha! So we've established my proposal is sound in principle. Now we're just haggling over price."

Davy Jones looked taken aback. "Price?" He popped his lips.

"Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?" Jack asked.

"One hundred souls," Jones answered after a moment of thought. "Three days-uh."

"You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the boy, I'll get started right off," Jack said, walking over to my direction.

The thing holding me close to his rough body hissed threateningly over my shoulder. Jack turned around.

"I keep the boy. A good-faith payment," Jones said. "That leaves you only ninety-nine more to go," he started laughing.

"Have you not met Will Turner?" Jack said, going for a new approach. "He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. Worth at least four. Maybe three and a half. And did I happen to mention…'e's in love? Wiv a girl. Due to be married," Jack starting circling Davy Jones. "Betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Eh?"

I could see how crushed Davy Jones was starting to look, as though the memories of how he felt were still painful.

"I keep the boy. Ninety-nine souls-uh," Jones stated. "Unless you wish to make it ninety-eight right now."

Everything got quiet.

"Take 'er."

I snapped my eyes up and saw Jack staring at me. It scared me to think how calm I felt. As if this was just going to be a change of scenery that might do me well.

"No! Jack, I said no!" Gibbs growled. The creature behind him covered his mouth with what used to be its hand.

Davy Jones turned and looked at me. "You look familiar, Miss…"

"Lynch," Jack supplied. "Liam and Aislinn's daughter, as it were."

"Weeeeell," Davy Jones smirked. "At least one of the Lynches will be on my crew."

I took a deep breath. My parents were not among these…these things. I couldn't tell if I was happy or disappointed.

"Maccus. Bring Miss Lynch aboard," Jones ordered.

"Aye-aye, Cap'n," said the harsh voice behind me.

And the next thing I knew, I was on the _Flying Dutchman_.


	12. Five Lashes

** "Heave! Heave! Heave!"**

Will and I pulled on a line along with the other crewmen (and I say "men" very lightly). We were hoisting a cannon. Dramatic organ music was playing from deep inside the ship.

"Secure the mast tackle, Mr. Turner!" shouted the bo'sun, Jimmy Legs, from the aft deck.

Both Will and a crewman from a different line looked up at the cannon. The other one looked just like the one I had a dream about. And he looked surprisingly like Will…

"Set to it!" Jimmy Legs yelled.

The two of them ran off and I couldn't help but wonder if the other one was Bootstrap Bill. But I couldn't stop heaving on the line. I couldn't imagine what punishments would occur if something went wrong.

But then the lines went slack and the cannon fell to the deck. I jumped out of the way and landed hard on the wet wood below me. When I pulled myself to my feet, I followed the rest of the crew up to the aft deck.

"Haul that weevil to his feet," Jimmy Legs ordered.

Will was lifted up and slammed against a mast.

"Five lashes will remind you to stay on 'em!" Jimmy Legs lifted his whip high into the air.

"NO!" the other stood in his way.

"Impeding me in my duties? You'll share the punishment."

"I'll take it all," the other offered.

"Will you, now?" Davy Jones said, clanking forward. I just realized that the organ music had ended. "And what would prompt such an act of charity?"

"…My son," Bootstrap gazed at Will. "He's my son."

Will looked shocked. He tried to wrench himself out of the crewman's arms.

Davy Jones stepped forward to get a good look at him. Then he began to expel a cruel laugh. "What _fortuitous_ circumstance be this? Five lashes be owed, I believe it is."

Jimmy Legs handed the captain his whip. Then Jones presented it to an incredulous Bootstrap Bill.

"No. No, I won't!"

"The cat's out of the bag, Mr. Turner! Your issue will feel its sting, be it by the bo'sun's hand or your own."

"No."

"Bo'sun," Jones said.

"NO!" Bootstrap took the whip and stepped forward.

The two crewman holding Will against the mast ripped his shirt off his back and I felt my breath hitch a little.

I closed my eyes while Bootstrap flogged my friend. Dear William who had always been kind to me, even after he knew I was a pirate. Dear William who had tended to my wounds. Dear William who had saved me from the hangman's noose. I couldn't bear to watch this happen to him.

After the fifth lash, I opened my eyes and watched as some of the crew tossed him down the stairs, his back covered in blood.

"You had it easy, boy!" Jimmy Legs shouted to him.

I followed Bootstrap as we went to join his son.

"Will," Bootstrap said, trying to get him to his feet.

"I don't need your help!" Will roared, struggling to get away.

"The bo'sun prides himself on cleaving flesh from bone, with every swing."

"So I'm to understand what you did was an act of compassion?"

"Yes."

Will looked at him and then at me. I stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulder as Bootstrap led us below deck.

"A hundred years before the mast, losing who you were, bit by bit, until you end up-end up like poor Wyvern here," Bill said, pointing to a man who had become one with the hull, holding a lamp in his hand. "Once you've sworn an oath to the _Dutchman_, there's no leaving it. Not until your debt is paid."

I looked down at the tip of my boots. I thought about what Tia Dalma had said to me about not needing to look sad for too long. Nothing seemed too rosy on this ship.

"We've sworn no oath," Will said, squeezing my hand gently.

"Then you must get away," Bootstrap breathed.

"Not until I find this," Will showed him the drawing. "The key."

There were several cracking noises behind us. I turned and saw Wyvern breaking from the hull.

"The Dead Man's Chest," Wyvern said in his low voice.

"What do you know of this?" Will asked.

"Open the chest with the key, and stab the heart. N-no-no-no, don't stab the heart. The _Dutchman_ needs a living heart or there'll be no captain, and if there's no captain, there's no one to have the key," Wyvern said.

"So the captain has the key?"

Wyvern didn't answer. He slowly went back towards the wall.

"Where is the key?"

"Hidden," he finally said.

"Where is the chest?"

"Hidden."

And Wyvern spoke no more.

* * *

I searched the hold and was surprised to find a rag and a clean bucket of water. I returned to Will, who was laying against a crate. I grimaced at the gashes on his back. He had only been given five lashes, but they still looked very painful.

"I apologize in advance," I said gently, kneeling beside him and putting the bucket on the ground. "This isn't likely to feel nice."

"It's alright, Keegan," Will grunted.

I grabbed his torn shirt and lifted it over his head, helping him remove his arms from the sleeves. Then I wrung out the rag and bunched it up.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Mm."

I started to clean his bloody mess of a back. He groaned each time my rag touched the open wounds. I hated hurting him like this, but I couldn't risk him getting an infection.

"We'll be needing to wrap this up," I said, untying the sash from my waist and unfolding it. It was a very wide piece of fabric so whenever I put it on I had to fold it over a few times. I took my sword out of its sheath and cut it into thick strips.

"This seems to be a recurring theme with your poor sashes," Will gave me a weak smile.

I chuckled through my nose and started to tie them around his middle. "With a person as accident prone as me, one can never be too prepared."

"I suppose that's right," he said.

"I've loads more back at my place in Tortuga, anyway." I finished wrapping him and helped him sit up. He turned around and carefully leaned against the crate. "Provided we ever get off this bloody ship."

"We will," the young man vowed.

The floorboards above us creaked. Someone was walking by. Will and I looked at the stairway and kept quiet.

A pair of feet passed, then it was silent—except for the rain.

"Ever since we met again I've felt something was wrong," Will said.

I resituated so I was sitting next to him. With a sigh, I responded: "I feel…cold."

Will furrowed his brow.

"Inside," I elaborated. "The only reason Jack made me come here is because he believes I've lost my will to live."

"Why would he think that?"

"I've been distant…with everyone. I think being used constantly for bait or vengeance is finally taking its toll on me."

"I'm starting to know the feeling," Will said bitterly. "But why did you stay on the_ Pearl_?"

I turned to Will.

"…After I saved you and Jack. Surely the ship spent a night or two in Tortuga. You could have just stayed behind," he continued.

"And done what?" I gulped. "Worked at the _Faithful Bride_? Sold my body like Scarlett and Giselle? Rotted in my little house? No. I'm going through a bit of a rough spot, but I'll make my way out of it."

Will was quiet for a moment. "I can only assume most of this is because of Jack."

The corner of my lip twitched. "Aye. I've almost died a few times because of him. I should be appreciating my life, but I'm trying to find a reason to be happy."

"Well," Will put his arm around me gingerly, "I'm sure that once we escape from here you'll find it."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"I wager ten years," Maccus said, holding down on his cup. He was playing a gambling game called Liar's Dice with Koleniko—who looked like an urchin—and Clanker—a severely barnacled man with a hat on.

"I'll match ten years," Koleniko announced.

"Agreed," Clanker added.

They looked at the dice under their cups as Bootstrap came up behind Will and me.

"Wondering how it's played?" Bill asked.

"I understand," Will answered. I certainly didn't get it.

"Liar!" Maccus exclaimed at Clanker.

"It's a game of deception. But your bet includes all the dice, not just your own," Will explained—but I still didn't get it.

Clanker and Koleniko pointed at Maccus.

"What are they wagering?" I asked.

"Oh, the only thing we have," Bootstrap said. "Years of service."

"So any crew member can be challenged?" Will asked.

"Aye. Anyone," Bootstrap told him.

"I challenge Davy Jones."

Everything was silent. Even the organ music in the background stopped. Bootstrap was about to say something to his son when we heard the footsteps.

I was overcome with worry for Will. My body was full of raw emotion I hadn't felt in months.

Clanker began to chortle and then Davy Jones came below deck. "I accept, mate-uh."

The crew got to setting up a table and Will sat down. They provided him with his five dice and rusty cup. He stood to be addressed by the captain.

"The stakes?" Jones asked

"My soul. An eternity of servitude," Will told him.

I gulped.

"No!" Bootstrap said from beside me.

"Against?" Jones continued.

Will held up the drawing. "I want this."

Jones used his claw to pick it up and he looked at the cloth. He snapped his eyes to Will angrily and threw the drawing down.

"How do you know of the key?" he asked.

"That's not part of the game, is it?" Will countered, taking a seat. "You can still walk away."

Jones was quiet. Then he lowered himself into his chair. Using one of the tentacles from his beard, he pulled out the actual key on a ring. Then it hit me that Will was only doing this to find out where it was.

He put the key away and grabbed his cup with his other hand—a slimy tentacle. As he and Will put the dice in their cups and flipped them over on the table, Bootstrap decided to join. I hadn't even noticed he'd left my side.

"What's this?" Jones asked.

"I'm in. Matching his wager," Bootstrap explained.

"No! Don't do this," Will muttered.

"The die is cast," his father explained. "I bid three twos. It's your bid, Captain."

Davy Jones smiled. "Four fours-uh." His crew chuckled.

"Four fives," Will said.

"Six threes," Bootstrap added.

"Seven fives-uh," Jones told them.

They all looked at their dice. I had no idea what was happening, but I could really feel the tension.

"Eight fives," Will said.

"Heh-heh-heh. Welcome to the crew, lad," Jones laughed.

"Twelve fives," Bootstrap interjected. "Twelve fives. Call me a lair or up the bid.

"And be called a liar m'self for m' trouble?" Jones retorted. He lifted up Will's father's cup. "Bootstrap Bill, you're a liar and you will spend an eternity on this ship!" He stood up and addressed the son. "Master Turner, feel free to go ashore…the very next time we make port!" He and his crew cackled and walked away.

"Fool," Will whispered to his father. "Why did you do that?"

"I couldn't let you lose," Bootstrap said.

"It was never about winning or losing," Will told him, confirming my suspicions.

"The key," Bill finally put it together. "You just wanted to know where it was."

* * *

Late that night, Will nudged me awake. We met Bootstrap and climbed up on deck. Clanker was asleep, his jowls shaking as he snored, a bottle in his hand. Bootstrap climbed up to the aft deck to distract Greenbeard, the helmsman.

I followed after Will as he entered the Captain's Quarters. Davy Jones was asleep at the organ. We tiptoed in slowly, careful not to make too much noise. And as we got closer, we could hear the captain snoring quietly.

I grabbed a quill while Will took something else. I went over to the other side of Jones and we used the instruments to move the tentacles. I nearly jumped when Davy grunted, almost jerking awake. Luckily, he never opened his eyes.

His tentacle curled around my quill and I could see the key hanging underneath. Will tried to grab the key, but then a tentacle slipped off whatever it was he had in his hand, falling onto the organ. There was a loud noise emitted from the pipes and Davy Jones stirred again. I quickly stepped back, still holding onto the quill.

I worried that we were done for, but then the quiet tones of music box started playing. The tune was like the one he played on the very organ he was sitting at. His eyes slowly closed and I stepped forward again. I looked at the music box and it looked remarkably like the one Tia Dalma had on her table. I wondered if she had bartered it from the woman who had caused Jones to carve out his heart.

Will used the rolled up piece of cloth to substitute for the actual key, easing it into the tentacle holding the object. With a small jingle, he was given the key and I pulled the quill out from my tentacle's grasp, following Will out of the quarters as the music box played its last notes.

We joined Bootstrap on the main deck, where he stood preparing our longboat. Will put the key around his neck and attached a baldric around himself.

"Here, take this too," Bootstrap held out a dagger. "Now, get yourselves to land and stay there.

"It was always in my blood to die at sea. It was not a fate I ever wanted for you."

Will unsheathed the dagger and looked it over. "It's not a fate you had to choose for yourself, either."

"Aye. I could say I did what I had to, when I left you to go pirating. But it would taste a lie to say it wasn't what I wanted. You owe me nothing, Will. Now go," Bootstrap said.

"They'll know you helped us," I told him.

He laughed. "What more can they do to me?"

"I take this with a promise," Will lifted up the dagger. "I'll find a way to sever Jones's hold on you, and not rest until this blade pierces his heart. I will not abandon you. I promise."

He and his father stared at each other intensely, then Will grabbed my elbow and we got into the longboat.

* * *

Making up for lost time. Been writing up a storm this weekend. Enjoy.


	13. Sea Turtles, Mate

** Will and I **took turns rowing the boat until we came across the _Edinburgh Trader_.

"Strange thing to come upon a longboat so far out in open water," drawled the Scottish Captain Bellamy.

Will and I were sitting in his cabin, draped in blankets and drinking tea. Across from us were the captain, quartermaster, and bursar.

"Just put as many leagues behind us as you can. As fast as you can," Will told him.

"And what are we running from?" asked the captain.

"Trust me when I say yeh don't want to know," I said.

I noticed that Will's eyes led to a dress laid upon a chair. I glanced at him and at that point I knew it must have belonged to Elizabeth.

He stood up and walked over to it. "That dress. Where did you get it?"

"It was found aboard the ship," answered the captain before Will started to examine it. "The crew thought it was a spirit bringing some omen of ill-fate."

"That's foolish," Will replied.

"Oh, yes. Exceedingly foolish," grunted the quartermaster poisonously.

"It brought good fortune. The spirit told us, 'Pull in at Tortuga,' and we made a nice bit of profit there," the bursar added.

"Off the books, of course," the captain said.

"I imagine some of your crew may have jumped ship there," Will turned back to them.

"Why do you ask?"

"Captain!" exclaimed a deckhand as he bolted down the stairs. "A ship's been spotted."

I stood up and dropped my blanket.

"Colors?"

"She isn't flyin' any."

"Pirates."

"Or worse," I muttered.

We ran up on deck. I noticed a pulse in the water. Will helped me climb up the rigging, supporting me if I felt like I was going to fall. We stood and held onto a rope once we got to the top of the sail. Out in the distance was the ship we had just escaped from.

"We've doomed us all," I commented.

"IT'S THE _FLYING DUTCHMAN_!" Will shouted.

Then something crashed into the ship. We were thrown off the sail, but we held fast to the line and pulled ourselves back up. I clung to Will and watched as the captain was dragged into the water by a giant tentacle.

"The kraken," I muttered.

The captain screamed as he was raised out into the air one last time. The crew yelled about the leviathan and someone rang a bell. They ran about, trying to use their weapons on the monster. At one point, the mast we were on broke and fell forward. We jumped together onto the next mast and tried to latch on. We slipped down and Will stuck the dagger into the sail to slow our landing as much as possible. We grabbed a line and saved ourselves from landing on the deck. Will got himself up first and I followed after, my arms getting tired. Once we were standing, Will pulled out his sword and waved it at the tentacle trying to get us. Then we looked up and saw two others standing straight up in the air. They fell atop the deck and crushed the ship. Our new mast had been hit again and we dove into the water.

There, in the blue liquid, was a giant cephalopod. I stared at it, ignoring the limited breath in my lungs that was running out. Will grabbed my hand and dragged me up to the surface. A large piece of driftwood was behind us. We climbed atop it, ready to rest. But then the _Dutchman_ sailed right past us. We climbed up the side, seeing the rest of the crew of the _Trader_ being held captive by Jones's men.

"What of the survivors?" Maccus asked.

"There are no survivors," Jones said cruelly, walking away.

His men raised their weapons and swung them into the living men's heads with a deadly crunch. Will looked up at Jones, then he nudged me to dart off and climb towards the bowsprit so we could hide. I thought I could hear the captain say something about Isla Cruces, but that was all my ears could tell me.

"Come on," Will helped me into the mouth of the bowsprit where I took a seat and relaxed. "We've come this far, Keegan. Everything will be back to normal soon."

* * *

Eventually, the _Dutchman_ anchored at Isla Cruces—an island covered with beautiful white sand and green treetops. I admired it for a moment, thinking that it wouldn't be so bad if I had to stay there forever.

"Keegan," Will whispered, grabbing my hand. "Look."

He pointed out to where three figures filed across said white sand. One was obviously Jack. One had long hair. And one almost looked like a Navy man.

"We must move now," Will told me, pulling me closer to him.

We timed our dive into the water precisely when a wave crashed into the hull, so as not to make too much of a sound. We swam as far as we could without needing a breath and hurried for the beach. And we had good timing as the ship submerged itself into the water not long after we did.

We followed the bodies until they stopped moving and then swam straight up to the beach. It was tiring after a while, but we soon stepped onto the sand. There were the three people—Jack, Elizabeth in men's clothes, and an unrecognizable figure—crowded around an opened chest, a spade sticking out of the ground.

"It's real," Elizabeth muttered.

As we got closer, I could tell Jack was holding up what must have been the Dead Man's Chest, listening close to hear the heart beating inside.

"You actually _were_ telling the truth," said…_Norrington_? Without a wig, his brown hair was long and his face unshaved. He must have been excommunicated.

"What in the blazes is he doing here?" I asked under my breath. My own long brown hair whipping me in the face as the wind blew.

"I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised," Jack pointed out.

"With good reason," Will said, trudging up to the three.

"Will!" Elizabeth gasped, standing up and running into his arms.

Jack and Norrington stood up as well. I was surprised to see the captain staring after the young woman longingly.

"You're all right! Thank God! I came to find you!" Elizabeth continued, kissing the young man.

Norrington looked down, those wounds clearly still wide open. Meanwhile, Jack looked around awkwardly. He almost made me laugh. I was surprised that I actually felt kind of happy to see him. How I missed happiness.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"Sea turtles, mate," I said, grinning for the first time. My cheeks started to ache. "A pair of them strapped to each of our feet."

"Ah, Miss Keegan. Glad to have you back," Jack smirked. "Travel by turtles, eh? Not so easy is it?"

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. He patted my back and I stepped away after a moment. Then I remembered that he made me go on the _Dutchman_—probably one of the worst experiences of my life—and I struck him across the face.

"I _definitely_ deserved _that_," Jack mumbled, turning his face back the right way.

"But I do owe you thanks, Jack," Will said.

"You do?" Jack said in surprise, rubbing his cheek.

"After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones…"

"_What_?" Elizabeth exclaimed, glaring at the captain.

"_What_?" Jack imitated her, pretending not to know what the young man was talking about.

"…I was reunited with my father," Will continued.

"Oh, well…you're welcome, then. And if that weren't the only good thing to come about, Miss Keegan has clearly reunited with her feelings," Jack fake-smiled at me.

"I think we're square now," I said, wriggling the fingers on my slapping hand.

"Everything you said to me, every word was a lie!" Elizabeth marched over to the captain.

"Pretty much," Jack admitted. "Time and tide, love."

Will knelt down and pulled the key out. He grabbed the Chest.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Jack asked.

"I'm gonna kill Jones," Will told him.

Jack unsheathed his sword, pointing it at him. "Can't let you do that, William. 'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?"

Elizabeth stared gap-mouthed at Jack. Will stood up straight.

"Now, if you please," Jack held out his hand. "The key."

Will took the sword out of Elizabeth's scabbard and pointed it at the captain.

"I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father. I hope you're here to see it," Will told him.

Norrington took out his own sword and pointed it at Will. "I can't let you do that either. So sorry."

"I knew you'd warm up to me eventually," Jack smiled, but then Norrington pointed his sword at the captain, and Will at the former commodore. Jack pointed his at Will as an after-thought.

Next to me, Elizabeth tried to follow the impending three-way swordfight.

"Lord Beckett desires the content of that chest. I deliver it, I get my life back," Norrington said.

"Ah. The dark side of ambition."

"Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption."

And with a yell, Norrington started the parries. Elizabeth shrieked beside me as they started to move.

"Stop it!" she gasped.

I couldn't see much, but I did notice Jack stealing the key and running off. Norrington kicked Will down onto the sand and Elizabeth rushed to her fiancé.

"Will!" she exclaimed, getting on her knees.

"Guard the Chest!" he ordered, scrambling up.

"No!" Elizabeth responded defiantly, standing up and fast-walking after the three. Meanwhile, I took a seat next to the Chest. "This is barbaric! This is no way for grown men to settle—Oh, fine! Let's just _haul_ out our swords and start _banging_ away at each other! That will SOLVE EVERYTHING! I'VE HAD IT! I'VE HAD IT WITH WOBBLY-LEGGED, RUM-SOAKED PIRATES!" Elizabeth screamed. She started throwing rocks after them, still yelling. "THIS IS MADNESS!" Eventually, she stopped throwing said rocks. "ENOUGH!" She paused. "Oh. Oh! The heat!" and she pretended to faint.

And that did a great heap of nothing.

But then I saw Pintel and Ragetti running towards me. They tipped their heads to me and then picked up the Chest, scampering off with their giggles.

I got up and chased after them, pulling out my own sword. We barreled past Elizabeth and she caught up with me.

"Good to have you—" Elizabeth puffed "—back! Mr. Gibbs told me—what happened."

"Good to be back," I responded, surprised she even remembered me. "Sorry you almost got hanged for me."

"I could say—the same for you."

I smiled.

When we went in through the trees, we heard bells chiming. From what little I knew of Isla Cruces, there used to be a church. And the three men must have found it as well.

Elizabeth and I continued through the island brush. She circled around and cut off the two pirates. When I caught up to them, I saw her trying to reach for her sword, but she didn't have one. Pintel and Ragetti started giggling. They dropped the chest and pulled out their own weapons.

"'Ello, poppet," Pintel said as I came up behind him and readied myself to put my blade to his throat. They stepped forward and I was about to make my move.

But then the clanging of swords surprised us all and we looked over to see a giant waterwheel rolling by—Will and Norrington sword fighting atop it while Jack chased after.

Before I looked back, Pintel and Ragetti were stepping toward Elizabeth again. Then an axe flipped through the air and landed in a tree. And shouting through the brush was Davy Jones's crew. Elizabeth turned around and backed into her two former adversaries, who handed her both swords and scurried off, grabbing the chest.

Elizabeth and I followed them.

"Cah'mon, run!" Pintel hollered.

Elizabeth screamed and they looked back at her, losing the chest because they both went separate ways around the same palm tree. We all stared down at the chest and the crew met up with us.

Jimmy Legs approached Elizabeth and she crossed her swords to fend him off. Clanker threw a set of cannonballs around Ragetti's ankles and knocked him down.

"Sword!" Elizabeth shouted, throwing one back at Pintel.

"Sword! Sword!" he replied frantically.

"Sword!" Ragetti hollered, getting up.

I was fighting against Clanker, trying very hard to keep my head. He almost disarmed me, but my sword remained in my hand. I knocked him over and started running with my companions. I could've sworn we passed Jack sitting near the Chest.

"'Ello, my sweet!" hissed Maccus.

I suddenly tucked down and he flipped over me. I disarmed another pirate and chased after Elizabeth. Pintel and Ragetti had regained the Chest and were ahead.

We had finally come out of the trees and onto the beach, turning around every now and again to fight off another crewman. Out in the distance, Jack was fighting what looked like Koleniko by a longboat.

The waterwheel sped into the ocean, knocking over a few of Davy Jones's men. We all stopped to watch as the wheel slowed down and tipped over. Then Elizabeth and I got back to fighting.

"AAH!" I screeched as a blade cut into my hip. But I ignored it and kept on. I could clean it out on the _Black Pearl_…if I ever got back on it.

Maccus came up to me and hissed in my face, his breath smelling of fish. I backed up, still parrying with him, joined by Elizabeth and Norrington as we headed for the longboat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack hit him over the head with the oar he was fighting Koleniko off with. Retribution for Isla de Muerta? Will slumped into the boat.

Elizabeth hurried to see if her fiancé was alright, but Jack sidled up next to her.

"Leave him lie! Unless you plan on using him to hit something with," Jack told her.

"We're not going to get out of this," I pointed out.

"Not with the Chest," Norrington said. "Into the boat." He reached in and took said Chest out.

"You're mad," Elizabeth said through gritted teeth.

"Don't wait for me," Norrington told her. And he set off through the water, heading back towards the island.

"I-I-I say we respect his final wish," Jack stuttered.

"Aye!" Pintel agreed.

And we rushed into the longboat, wasting no time at all to get back to the _Pearl_. Pintel hauled Will over his shoulder and laid him upon the grate on deck.

"Keegan!" Gibbs ran to me and threw his arms around my neck, pulling me into his round body. "Yer safe!"

"I am," I smiled at him. But then the searing pain in my hip returned and I pressed the palm of my hand into it.

"Are yeh hurt?" Gibbs looked at my blood-stained breeches. He unwrapped what was left of the sash around my waist and tied it about my hips tight.

I wiped the blood from my hand on my leg. "I'm fine," I said. Although it hurt to walk.

Jack, clutching the jar of dirt close to his chest, walked by and Gibbs followed him, me in tow.

"Where's the commodore?" Gibbs asked.

"Fell behind," Jack put it simply.

"My prayers be with 'im," Gibbs said. "Best not wallow in our grief." We went with Jack up to the aft deck where Cotton stood at the helm. "The bright side is you're back, and made it off free and clear."

And then the _Flying Dutchman _emerged from the water right beside us.

"Lord on high, deliver us," Gibbs did the Sign of the Cross.

"I'll handle this, mate," Jack told him, stepping closer to the railing. "Oi, fishface!" He held the jar high above his head. "Lose something? Eh, _Scungili_!"

Jack tumbled down the stairs and we all groaned.

He raised the jar, still intact, above the railing. "Got it!" He stood. "Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git? Look what I got. _I got a jar o' di-irt. I've got a jar o' di-irt. And guess what's inside it._" He held it up over his head once more.

Just then, the doors that hid the cannons lowered, made to look like a bearded old man opening his mouth…and drooling, since water poured down. The guns slid out and they were all aimed at us.

I looked at Gibbs and he gulped. He took his position at the helm and did another Sign of the Cross.

"HARD TO STARBOARD!" Elizabeth shrieked.

I watched as Gibbs pulled the helm down completely to the starboard side. Not long after, the cannons shot through the cabins beneath us. Elizabeth darted up the stairs, followed by Pintel and Ragetti.

"She's on us! She's on us!" Pintel shouted, talking about the _Dutchman_.

More cannons were fired. Screams could be heard from the lower deck. And one of the cannonballs hit a light fixture behind Gibbs, making him yelp. Jack joined us up by the helm, nudging his first mate off the wheel so he could have it himself. Cotton stood behind him with his parrot on his shoulder. Elizabeth was leaning on the railing. I didn't know where Pintel and Ragetti had gone to. They had just been shouting and then were gone.

"She's falling behind," I said, standing nearby Elizabeth. There was quite a bit of distance between us and the _Dutchman_. Gibbs stood between us and Will got on the other side of the young woman.

"Aye, we've got her!" Gibbs smiled.

"We're the faster?" Will asked.

"Against the wind, the _Dutchman_ beats us," Gibbs explained. "_That's_ how she takes her prey. But _with _the wind…"

"We rob her advantage," Will finished for him.

"Aye," Gibbs said, running off with Elizabeth.

Will and I exchanged glances. He coaxed a small smile from me.

"THEY'RE GIVING UP!" Marty shouted from the rigging.

"YEEEEA!" the crew cheered. I looked down and saw Pintel and Ragetti doing a little jig.

Will walked over to Jack, who looked down at the lower deck while Cotton steered the ship, and they spoke in hushed tones. Jack had placed the jar of dirt on the railing confidently. And then the ship was rocked by something more powerful than a cannonball.

The jar went tumbling to the lower deck. I grabbed onto the railing to keep from falling over. Jack whimpered and ran down the stairs to his jar of dirt. I watched as he knelt down, careful of the broken glass, and rummaged through the sand for something. I had a feeling I knew what had knocked it over.

"We must have hit a reef!" someone shouted.

"No," Will said after a moment. "IT'S NOT A REEF!" He grabbed onto Elizabeth, who had been standing next to me, looking down into the turquoise water. "Get away from the rail!" he pulled her off and I took a few steps back, as did Gibbs.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked as Pintel and Ragetti came up to the aft deck.

"The kraken," Will said, letting go of her to walk down the stairs. "To arms!"

"Load guns! Defend the mast!" Gibbs ordered, following the couple. I followed as well.

"It'll attack the starboard; I've seen it before!" I said.

"Run out the cannons and hold for my signal!" Will added, pulling out a sword.

As the boy was going across the busy deck, I noticed Jack's eyes on me. He grabbed onto my arm and I jumped.

"What are you doing?!" I hissed as he pulled me after him. I noticed he was headed for a longboat. "Get off me!" I said when he lifted me up into the boat.

"We're leaving," he said, lowering us into the water.

"Stop it!" I shouted.

"Stop fussing," Jack demanded as he rowed us away.

Behind him, several humongous tentacles slithered up the hull of the _Pearl_. My eyes widened.

"The crew," I whispered. I snapped my focus back on the man with the dreadlocks. "You can't just leave them there!" He completely ignored me. "Take me back!"

"I will not," he finally said. "I've gotten you into this mess and now I will get you out."

"Where is this even coming from? You _told_ Jones to take me aboard his crew. You let all of this happen and now you _care_?"

"I've always cared, love," Jack said.

"You've always considered me a number. Now let me be a number in the death count," I begged.

Jack didn't say anything. He just pulled out his compass and sighed, turning the longboat around.

Once we returned to the ship, we climbed up onto the aft deck, careful to dodge the gigantic tentacles writhing around. Water sprayed on me. I looked out and saw Will hanging from a cargo net full of kegs. Beneath him, men everywhere were getting scooped up by the kraken's tentacles and taken to the depths.

"SHOOT! ELIZABETH, SHOOT!" Will hollered down at the woman holding a gun.

She kept aiming at the swinging cargo net, but then a tentacle grabbed her around the ankle and pulled her down toward the cabin.

Just then, a man on the deck grabbed onto the gun and tried to shoot it at a tentacle, but another wrapped itself around him and lifted him up. Fortunately, he threw the gun down. It landed over near the staircase. The freed girl hurried up and was knocked down on her knees by the ship rocking. She crawled up and reached out to grab the gun, but Jack laid his boot down on the weapon. Not noticing whose it was, she tried to push it off, gasping the word "no". And then she looked up.

Jack looked down at her and then picked the gun up. Elizabeth crawled up a bit more and wrapped her arms around his leg. Jack aimed the gun at the cargo net, and once Will had jumped down and the kraken took a hold of it, knocking the kegs down, he pulled the trigger.

There was a huge explosion. The kraken bellowed and its burnt tentacles writhed even more. The leviathan surrendered to the water. I took the other staircase down to the smoky deck and met with Marty and Gibbs at the railing. We looked down, but saw nothing.

"Did we kill it?" Marty asked.

"I think we just made it angry," I said.

"We're not out of this yet," Gibbs turned away from the railing. "Captain—orders!" He ran over to Jack, who hurried down from the aft deck. Cotton, Marty, and I followed, while Pintel and Ragetti came out from what once were the captain's quarters.

"Abandon ship. Into the longboat," Jack said, handing Gibbs the gun while Elizabeth came down as well.

Gibbs looked surprised. He hesitated and then turned around. We followed the captain.

"Jack! The _Pearl_," he said.

"She's only a ship, mate," Jack said, not turning around to face us.

"He's right. We have to head for land," Elizabeth said.

"It's a lot of open water," Pintel pointed out.

"It's a lot of water," Ragetti echoed.

"We have to try," Will interjected. "We can get away as it takes down the _Pearl_."

Gibbs nodded.

"Abandon ship," he said. "Abandon ship or abandon hope."

I gulped and looked at all the survivors. There was Will, Elizabeth, Jack, Gibbs, Marty, Cotton, Cotton's parrot, and me. A lot of blood had been shed on the planks of this ship.

I helped Gibbs hand supplies down to the boat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elizabeth kissing Jack, backing him into the mast. My heart sank for Will. This was the ultimate betrayal.

"Prepare to cast off. There's no time to lose," Gibbs ordered, getting ready to climb down. "Come on, Will, step to!"

I eased myself down into the longboat, taking a seat between Gibbs and Will. The latter looked angry and heartbroken. I had to assume he saw it as well. I reached over and squeezed his hand.

Elizabeth eventually climbed down. By herself

"Where's Jack?" Will asked venomously.

"He elected to stay behind to give us a chance," Elizabeth said harshly.

That's when I figured it out in my head. She must have chained him to the mast because the kraken would've followed us—him. She was smart, that Elizabeth Swann. I just wish she had gone about it in a different way.

Everyone else stared up at the ship, as if they could see Jack waving us off with a "toodle-loo".

"Go!" Elizabeth ordered Marty, who was holding the only line keeping us attached to the _Pearl_.

And the next thing I knew, we were heading back to the Pantano River. I curled up against Gibbs and he put an arm around my shoulders.

I turned back and gulped as I saw the kraken rising from the depths to claim Jack and his ship. A single tear brimmed and fell down my cheek. I couldn't tell if it was a sad tear or an angry one. Jack _had_ been the only captain to keep me on his crew. He had been an important part of my life. He provided me with adventure. Provided me with stories of my own. But he had also nearly killed me and used me too many times.

I had just spent so many months feeling nothing. Now I had too many emotions to even understand exactly how I felt. Figures.

* * *

We entered the gloomy river at nightfall. The swamp was adorned with candlelight. The people who called this place their home all waded out in the misty river, holding a vigil as we passed by. Some were even crying.

_Thud!_

As soon as we had situated ourselves in Tia Dalma's shack, Will started tossing the dagger into the table he sat at.

_Thud!_

I stood against the doorjamb, my arms and legs crossed, looking at the dusty floor.

_Thud!_

Gibbs was staring at me, but I refused to look back at him. He turned and stood on the porch.

_Thud!_

Tia Dalma returned to where we were, a platter of mugs and candles in her hands.

_Thud!_

Tia approached Elizabeth, who shook her head, her dirty face tear-stricken.

"Against de cold…and de sorrow," the obeah woman said.

_Thud!_

Elizabeth reluctantly curled her fingers around the handle and took one, but didn't drink from it.

_Thud!_

Now Tia was at Will's side, not caring that there were many holes in her table.

"It's a shame. I know yer tinking dat wid de _Pearl_ ya could'a cyaptured de devil and set free ya fadder's soul," she said as he took a mug.

"Doesn't matter now," he responded when she stood. "The _Pearl_'s gone…along with its captain."

_Thud!_

"Aye," Gibbs said, turning to join us again. "And already the world seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all, right 'til the end. But I guess that honest streak finally won out."

"Thank you," I muttered, taking a mug after Ragetti.

"Oh, Kee-gan. I know ya been t'rough a lot. But I prah-mise. What I said is true. Tings'll be lookin' up for ya soon enough," Tia whispered in my ear.

I nodded and she stepped away. I wasn't sure I could believe her.

"To Jack Sparrow," Gibbs said, holding up his mug.

"Never another like Captain Jack," Ragetti said from the chair by my healing hip, all thanks to Tia Dalma, who had worked her voodoo magic on the shallow wound.

"'E was a gentleman of fortune, 'e was," Pintel added.

"He was a good man," Elizabeth said.

I drank from my cup and tasted liquid chocolate. It rolled down my throat and I sighed, taking in the deliciousness.

"If there was anything could be done to bring him back…" Will began. I looked up and saw him staring at his fiancée. He stood up. "Elizabeth."

Tia swooped in on the conversation. "Would you do it, hmm?" She headed for the young man. "What would you…hmm? What would any of you be willing to do, hmm? Will ya sail to de ends o' the Eart' and beyond to fetch back witty Jack and him precious _Pearl_?"

Gibbs was the first to speak. "Aye."

"Aye," Pintel stood.

"Aye," Ragetti echoed.

"Aye," I nodded.

Cotton raised his mug and his bird spoke for him as always. "_Squawk! _Aye."

Elizabeth nodded silently before saying, "Yes."

Will nodded as well. "Aye."

"All right," Tia sighed. "But if you go and brave de weird and haunted shores at world's end…then you will need a cyaptain who knows dose waters."

A pair of footsteps snapped my eyes up to the stairs. I could see the familiar-looking black boots coming ever closer. Tia winked at me and I curiously crept forward. The others followed my lead.

My jaw dropped at the sight of the captain I believed to be long dead, rotting away in the Isla de Muerta.

"So, tell me," Barbossa began, "what's become of my ship?" Monkey Jack climbed onto his shoulder, chirping while his master bit on a green apple. The man chortled, staring at me while the juice dripped down into his beard.

* * *

Aaaaaaaand she is DONE with Dead Man's Chest! Lemme tell you, I am SO proud of myself that I did (most of this) all in one day!


	14. Make Way For Singapore

** "It can't be," **I muttered, staring at Barbossa before me.

"Mother of God," Gibbs gasped. "Yeh've resurrected him."

"But…why?" Will asked.

"For many reasons," Tia snapped.

"None of which we have the time for right now, Turner," Barbossa added, taking another bite of the apple. "We must make way for Singapore. Yeh can mourn in the boat."

I gulped and then chugged the chocolate drink, placing the empty mug back on Tia Dalma's platter. I couldn't help but still be captivated by him. Barbossa smirked at me, stepping forward. He reached forward and rubbed at the corner of my lip, his thumb surprisingly warm. I must have had some of the drink on my face. I was embarrassed that he saw me like that. I felt myself blushing.

"Aye," Gibbs said, eyeing the captain's fingers that were still framing my chin. "To the boat."

I ducked away and headed for the door. Gibbs scrutinized me before giving Tia back the mug as well, the rest of our small crew following suit.

"I'll be comin' as well," Tia Dalma announced, taking the platter to a back room.

I wondered if we'd have enough room in our one longboat. But then I figured that Tia had her own. How else would she leave her shack?

Gibbs made sure to keep an eye on me as we rowed to Tortuga. He sat next to me in the back. Pintel and Ragetti were rowing. Meanwhile Barbossa stayed at the front, directing us through the waters. Every once in a while he would turn his head and look at the other boat behind us, with Tia, Will, Marty, Elizabeth, Will, and Cotton, the latter's parrot spreading its wings every now and then, landing on one boat or the other. Sometimes the captain would drag his eyes to my face and watch me for a moment.

At one point, Monkey Jack screeched and crawled over to me, resting in my lap. I scratched his head and he fell asleep right there. Gibbs looked at me as if it were my fault the creature was drawn to me. I couldn't help it.

Barbossa smirked. He looked me over and then glanced back at his pet. "Jack seems to like yeh."

"I like him as well," I murmured, stroking the monkey's fur. I looked up at Barbossa and smiled at him. Gibbs cleared his throat and stared at me as if I were a completely different person.

Was I?

* * *

We docked at Tortuga and Barbossa was the first to get out. "We'll spend the night here. Find yerself sleepin' quarters and we'll meet out by the well at first light."

"Keegan and I have some space," Gibbs offered.

It was now Barbossa's turn to scrutinize me. I sucked my lips in and stared at the hazy lights.

"I'll set about findin' us passage," the captain said, helping to hoist the crew out of our longboat. He was very rough pulling out the men, but when he reached his hand out to me, I grabbed it, and he gently aided me onto the wooden planks. "A pretty face may help," he commented, still holding onto my hand, our toes touching.

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Elizabeth and Tia Dalma, who were still seated in the boat. But Barbossa kept his eyes on me. I wondered why he was acting so charming towards me. Last I knew, he was punishing me for my mother leaving him.

Feeling Gibbs's judgmental eyes on me, I slid my hand out of the captain's. "I'll try me hardest," I said.

Once everyone was out of Tia's boat, we split up. Some went with Gibbs to our bungalow, while Pintel and Ragetti headed for a brothel, giggling to themselves. Barbossa rolled his yellow eyes and I laughed through my nose.

"Is there anything can be done to make yeh look a bit more…_appealing_?" he asked, stopping in his tracks to look over my appearance. "Somethin' that'll catch the eye of a passin' trader."

Understanding what he meant, I tried to push my breasts up in the corset a bit more. I fluffed my hair out and licked my lips. "Better?" I asked.

"Mm," Barbossa nodded. Then he explained what our plan was.

* * *

_ Barbossa kept his eyes on Keegan. He watched as she strolled over to the bar in The Faithful Bride, her hips swaying just the way Aislinn's did. But even from the seat in the corner he was sitting at, he could tell that she didn't possess the confidence of her long-dead mother._

_ Aislinn knew she could get what she wanted just by smiling a certain way. She could convince the most stubborn captain to reveal his heading just by touching him on the hand. She could even coax the rings off the King of England's fingers just by batting her eyelashes._

_ But Keegan had a refreshing sense of honesty about her. She was very _real_. From the limited exposure he had to her, Barbossa could tell she wore her heart on her sleeve. Whereas with Aislinn, one never knew what she was really thinking, what she was really feeling. _

_ "Oi."_

_ The captain looked up. There was a pretty woman standing before him. Her almost white-blonde hair was piled atop her head, a few strands down around her bared shoulders. Her dress was askew, as if she had quickly pulled it on. Her face was painted on with so much make-up that he could barely make out her actual features._

_ "'Aven't seen _you_ in near ten years. I thought I'd 'eard you _died_," she said, taking a seat across from him at the table._

_ "Who are you?" Barbossa asked, glancing over at Keegan, who was sitting at the bar, waiting to be approached._

_ "You don't remember?" the whore asked incredulously. "Giselle."_

_ His face was blank, if not a little annoyed-looking. He looked at his young companion and she shifted her eyes to him, her cheeks growing a bit pink. He smirked and then turned back to Giselle, who did not seem pleased._

_ "Well, per'aps I can jog yer mem'ry," she proposed, walking her fingers gently up his hand._

_ Barbossa looked down at his appendage. He felt a lump in his throat. It had been a long time since he could slake his lust. The prostitute on the other side would've been an easy, if not expensive, way to do so, but there was something telling him not to bed Giselle._

_ "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request," he said, pulling his hand out from underneath hers, but not before Keegan had glanced over and saw them. "Means no."_

_ How it satisfied Barbossa to use that line again. It had worked so well on the Turner gi—_Swann_ girl. And he was not disappointed by Giselle's reaction either. She scowled as she stood up and then stormed off into the crowded tavern. Now he could watch over Keegan and prepare himself to make an offer an unsuspecting captain couldn't refuse. _

_ A young drunkard had stumbled his way across the floor towards the bar, nearly falling on Keegan's lap. She helped him to stand up straight and Barbossa felt himself stiffen up a little. The other man was starting to reach out and touch her hair._

_ Seeing the uncomfortable look on her face was stirring something inside of him. And when the drunkard blatantly placed his hands on her bosom, he reached for the handle of his sword. But then another man, about as old as Jack Sparrow, advanced to the scene. He grabbed the scruff of the inebriated one's poet shirt and pulled him back forcefully._

I stared as the man who just groped me was yanked backwards. He tumbled onto the floor and wriggled, trying to get back on his feet. My savior whistled and two burly men who had been sitting with him grabbed my assailant by his wrists and ankles and carried him outside, no doubt to throw him in the pigsty.

"Thank you," I said, staring at the man who gotten the other off me.

"It was no problem at all," he said, tipping his tricorn at me. "Anythin' to protect a fellow Irishman."

He had a kind face, adorned with a well-kept beard and bright blue eyes. Barrel-chested and tall, he didn't even need the two grunt-men. But then I wondered just how powerful this man was.

"Yer coddlin' me," I said, playing up the brogue.

"Where ye from?" the man asked.

"I was born at sea, but me parents hailed from Cork," I told him. My parents were both born in the county, but never actually met until they were older.

"Ah, the Rebel County," he nodded. "Limerick is what I call home." He thrust out his hand. "Ardan Connelly, captain of the _Emerald Isle_."

"_Captain_?" I repeated, shaking his hand. I looked over at Barbossa, who leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, but still had his eyes locked on me. "What kind of ship do you run?"

Ardan began to explain how port tariffs and docking fees from the East India Trading Company were getting absurd, so they had to come to Tortuga for the night. I didn't really care, but I pretended that I did. This could've been our way to Singapore and I wasn't going to mess it up for us.

"So, Captain Connelly, would you mind coming to speak to a dear old friend of mine? He would _love_ to meet you," I beamed at him.

"Of course, of course, I'll buy us a round," Ardan said amiably. He turned to the barkeep as I stood up from the stool I was seated on. I grinned at Barbossa and cocked my head to the other captain. "'Ere you go, Miss…?" Ardan left me a pause to fill my own name in, but I decided against it. Who knew if he would recognize my family name and it would blow this operation to pieces?

"Thank yeh," I said, taking the tankard he provided me. "Come along." I started walking for the table in the corner. "_Captain_ Connelly, this is my dear old friend Hector. Captain Connelly has bought us a round."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Barbossa said politely, standing up. But I could detect a bit of venom in his words.

"Pleasure is all mine," Ardan said, lifting a tankard up in a friendly salute before taking the second seat in from his side of the table.

I was about to sit beside the Irishman, but then Barbossa stepped over so he would be across from Ardan. I couldn't help but feel my stomach go aflutter even with that simple gesture that probably meant nothing. He was just being nice.

Once I had plopped down in the seat he had kept warm for me, I took a small sip from the mug. The rum was bitter going down my throat, but that was mostly because I was not much of an imbiber. Beside me, Barbossa had received his tankard from Ardan and was drinking from it. I could tell how much he was savoring the taste, swishing the liquid in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it. I felt myself smiling at him, but I didn't want him to feel embarrassed, so I looked away.

"So tell me," Barbossa started, "what brings someone like ye to Tortuga, hmm?"

"The East India Trading Company is running everyone dry," Ardan drawled. "Tortuga, it seems, is the only free port left. Not many places to stock up on and we be on a long voyage."

"Where to?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"The Malay Peninsula. Southern Thailand, to be specific. Trade is good there," he nodded, drinking more.

"Is there any _possible_ way ye'd be willing to make a stop somewhere further down the peninsula?" Barbossa asked carefully. He caught the eye of a barmaid walking by with a platter in her hands. He gestured for her and she nodded, heading back to the kitchen. "Say…Singapore?"

"And what's in it fer me?" Ardan asked, leaning forward, scrutinizing the other captain.

"Yeh take us and our small crew aboard yer ship, yeh don't ask any questions, yeh get free labor, and the satisfaction yeh did somethin' nice fer yer fellow man," Barbossa said as the barmaid came back with another tankard of rum. He placed it before Ardan and gave him a fake-smile.

Ardan eyed the mug and then looked back at the man across from him. "You and yer small crew buy us our supplies and we leave tomorrow at noon," he offered, holding up the drink.

"Agreed," Barbossa said in his growly voice. He lifted the mug, as did I, and the three of us clinked them together.

* * *

"I don't see why we 'ad to buy these wiv our own money," Pintel carped, hauling a large crate onto the _Emerald Isle_.

"Not even being supplemented for our 'ard work," Ragetti added, hoisting a sack of grain over his shoulder.

I rolled my eyes as I headed down the gangplank to carry something else aboard. Those two could find just about anything to complain about.

"Ouch!" Elizabeth exclaimed, examining her fingertip. A drop of blood slid out of a tiny cut. "The rooster _bit_ me."

"You alright?" I asked, leaning down to pick up the goat we had purchased.

"I'll survive," she stuffed the tip of her finger into her mouth and tried to grab the rooster one more time. She had tried to hold him upright, but could only manage to grab him by his legs and had to carry him upside down.

I shook my head and carried the bleating goat after Elizabeth.

Once we had gotten everything on deck, Captain Connelly came out of his quarters to welcome us. He had warned his men that we had booked passage, but I still caught confused, worried, and even angry glances.

"Well, I suppose yeh weren't lyin' when yeh said yer crew was small," Ardan smiled, shaking Barbossa's hand. He had his sleeves rolled up, revealing freckled forearms. "Good to see yeh, Hector."

"Mm," Barbossa nodded. "I believe we're ready to set sail whenever you are."

"Very well, then," Ardan nodded and turned to his men. He began yelling out orders and strode away from us.

It must have killed Barbossa to see another man being captain. I could see it in his eyes. He was ready to be in command again. He was ready to control. And I was ready to follow him.

* * *

Really hoping this isn't complete shit. I'm actually kinda proud of the scene with Barbossa and Giselle, though


	15. Lightweight

** "Miss Lynch, I** was hopin' yeh'd join me for dinner tonight," Ardan said, crouching down by the cannon I was swabbing.

I shook a stray bit of hair out of my face and looked at the captain. Since we had been on his ship, he had paid me much attention, giving me easier jobs and letting me know that I was doing well at whatever task he threw at me. He was a very handsome fellow. Kind and good-humored, he was exactly the man I always thought I would marry.

But I just couldn't find myself attracted to him.

"I've asked the cook to prepare us somethin' nice," Ardan continued, "rather'n the slop 'e no doubt makes for yeh."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Barbossa standing at the opposite railing. He was staring out across the water, as if Singapore was going to creep up on us. Part of me wished it would soon.

"…Unless yeh have _other_ plans."

I didn't realize that I had fully begun to gaze at Barbossa. I snapped my eyes back to Ardan and smiled.

"I would greatly appreciate having dinner with you, Captain Connelly," I told him.

"Excellent," he smirked and stood up to walk away.

"So, the captain has invited you to dinner," Elizabeth piped up from the cannon next to me. "Last time that was offered to me, my second option was to eat with crew—naked."

"Oh, really?" I grinned.

"That was the night I started believing in ghost stories," she said, scrubbing at a smudge. "Because I was in one."

I looked over at Barbossa, who hadn't yet moved. "That must have been truly terrifying for you."

"It was," she murmured.

I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn't move. I had a feeling she was going to say something else, but then Will walked by. He stopped moving and a thick silence fell upon us for a moment. He marched off and I could feel the tension between him and Elizabeth. I finally glanced back over at the young woman and she was very focused on another smudge on the cannon.

The two hadn't spoken much. Usually Will would try to initiate a conversation, but she would ignore him or walk away. I wondered what had happened between her and Jack while Will and I were on the _Flying Dutchman_. Had she fallen in love with the pirate that turned her world upside down? I didn't ask though, because I knew I didn't want people badgering me about something like that.

* * *

"Keegan, I must ask," Gibbs said to me as I washed my face and hands in a barrel of water below deck, "d'yeh have…_stirrings_ for…?" He dragged a fingernail down his cheek to mime the scar on a certain captain's face.

I sighed, toying with the end of the fishtail braid I had tied off not too much earlier. "And why does that matter to you? Even if I _did_, how would that affect you?"

Gibbs struggled to find an answer. He narrowed his eyes and pursed his eyes.

"I love you dearly, Joshamee," I cupped his face with one hand and smiled weakly, "but I can make me own decisions. Like how I decided to join the captain for dinner. Speaking of which, I'm sure I'll be late if I don't make me way to his quarters."

"O' course," Gibbs nodded, taking my hand and squeezing it. "Don't say I never cared too much for yeh."

"It would be impossible to do so," I smiled, making my way up the stairs.

It was dark and chilly above deck. Some crewmen were mulling about, tightening lines and finishing whatever they could before it was time for them to eat. The stars were out and the moon was shining on the surface of the water. I had to stop and admire the sight while I could.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

I jumped and turned my head, even though it was impossible not to recognize the voice in my ear.

"You scared me," I said, chuckling nervously.

"My apologies, Keegan," Will grinned. It had been a while since I'd seen the corners of his lips turn like that. And it made my heart warm to think I had provided that for him.

"No worries," I waved a hand. "But I absolutely must be off. Captain Connelly is waiting for me."

Will seemed surprised by this news. "I didn't realize _he_ was the captain you were falling for."

I tried to give him a look to convey my annoyance, but I couldn't help myself from cracking a smile with him.

"Enjoy your meal," Will clapped my shoulder and then went below the deck.

I rolled my eyes and strolled over to the captain's quarters. I knocked on the door and heard a muffled voice tell me to come in. I opened the door and came inside, closing it behind me. Ardan was seated at a long table covered with platters of food.

"Apologies," I bowed my head, scampering to the seat across from him.

"Worry not," Ardan shook his head, beaming at me. "I can't hold a grudge for long. Not in me nature."

He stood up and grabbed a large bottle of mead. He poured it into the goblet in front of me and then sat back down.

"To Singapore," Ardan cocked his head towards me, holding his own goblet up.

"To Singapore," I repeated, clinking our drinks together.

* * *

Ardan had told me many of his stories, but none were nearly as interesting as Jack's. As he relayed me a rather long one about a sea turtle that had chased his ship, I felt my stomach sinking. I had to keep requesting more and more mead to try and not only make his tales sound better, but to also momentarily forget about Jack and the sadness I was feeling in the wake of his death.

By the third course, I was starting to get dizzy. During dessert, I wondered if I'd be able to make it back to my hammock without hurting myself.

"I—hic—think it's…time for me to go to bed," I said, not even thanking Ardan for the meal.

"I'll 'elp yeh," he said, coming over to my side of the table and grabbing me on the arm.

"Sorry," I hiccupped again as he guided me to my feet. "I'm a bit of a—hic—lightweight."

"Nothin' to apologize for," Ardan shook his head good-naturedly. "Yeh'll get more and more tolerant, I promise."

We were silent as he walked me onto the main deck. I tripped over a nail that was barely poking out and was about to stumble over, but Ardan held onto me tightly.

"_Captain_ Connelly," said a very familiar voice. "What have we here?"

I swung my head to the side and saw Barbossa limping over towards us. Unable to control myself, I smiled widely.

"Good evening," I said.

_ "I 'ad Miss Lynch for dinner and she may 'ave gone a bit overboard with the mead," Connelly explained, staring down at the woman. He had an arm around her and Barbossa noticed that his hand was getting dangerously close to her right breast._

_ Barbossa felt his body heat up—something he had almost forgotten the feeling of—but he tried to keep his face calm and cordial. _

_ "I'm bringin' 'er to bed," Connelly continued. "She'll feel this one in the morn."_

_ Before the captain could take one more step, Barbossa interjected. "I'm feelin' tired meself. Why don't I take the lady from here, hmm? Let the captain get a good night's rest."_

_ Connelly looked at Barbossa's outstretched arms and licked his lips as he considered this. "I suppose there's no 'arm in doin' that. Thankee, Hector."_

_ Barbossa nodded and the other captain placed Keegan gently into his grasp. She stumbled forward and fell against his chest, her ear on the bullet hole that lay below his coat and shirt. It didn't hurt him, but it did serve as a terrifying reminder that he was mortal again._

_ "Sorry," Keegan muttered. She looked up past his scraggly beard and into his blue eyes. Her arms remained around Barbossa's waist._

_ He noticed something in her drunken stare. A need. As if only he could provide the proverbial water she was thirsting for—although she'd definitely be needing some _literally_ the next morning. He fought the urge to smirk. And when he caught the jealous glare Connelly was throwing at him, he lost the battle._

_ "Shh," Barbossa whispered, reaching down to scoop her up. She helped him by reaching an arm around his shoulders. "Say good night to the captain."_

_ "Night," Keegan flopped a hand in an attempt at waving goodbye to Connelly._

_ "I'll be seein' yeh tomorrow," Connelly bowed his head and stormed off._

_ Barbossa grinned to himself and carried her carefully down below._

* * *

Pretty much just filler, but I figured I should do some more before I get into the movie part.


	16. Yo Ho, Haul Together

** "****_The king and _**_his men stole the queen from her bed, and bound her in her bones. The seas be ours and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam_," I sang, paddling the small boat I was sitting in. Elizabeth was just behind me. We were both in paddy hats and traditional garb.

After rejecting Ardan, we were dropped off in Singapore. I was to ride through the murky rivers with Elizabeth singing the shanty that called the Brethren Court to action. Barbossa would meet us at a designated area, where we would make the trek to Sao Feng's boathouse. Tia Dalma was dressed as a peddler, with Monkey jack and Cotton's parrot alongside her. Below the surface of the water, the rest of the crew was making their way to the catacombs below said boathouse. Earlier, Will had been sent off on his own mission, but we hadn't seen hide nor hair from him since he scampered off.

"_Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars. Never shall we die._"

Sao Feng was a pirate lord. As was Barbossa and Jack. The Brethren Court had to be convened in order to raise an army against the East India Trading Company, which was taking over the seas. And in order to do so, Jack had to be brought back.

"_Some have died and some are alive_," I continued, Elizabeth joining in now. "_And others sail on the sea._"

If you're wondering what had happened with Ardan, don't be too disappointed. Guessing that we were pirates, he had merely offered to keep me aboard so I could "start a new life". I turned him down and I like to think he took it well. No harsh words were spoken. And just before I strolled down the gangplank to join the rest of my companions, he took my hands and wished us luck.

"_With the keys to the cage, and the devil to pay, we lay to Fiddler's Green_."

Natives crossed the bridges above us as we paddled through the fog. No one paid us much attention.

"_Yo ho, haul together, hoist the colors high,_" I soloed. "_Heave ho, thieves and beggars. Never shall we die._"

"_The bell has been raised from its watery grave. Hear its sepulchral tone_," we sang, quietening down as soldiers marched by. "_A call to all. Pay heed the squall._"

Fireworks ignited on the next bridge we went under, a child running across it.

"_And turn your sails to home_." We finally reached the meeting place. "_Yo ho, haul together, hoist the colors high_." Elizabeth and I tied our boats up and climbed out onto the dock. "_Heave ho, thieves—_"

"Thieves!" exclaimed a native man, heading toward us with two others behind him. "And beggars! _Never shall we die_. A dangerous song to be singing…for any who are ignorant of its meaning."

"What makes you think we're ignorant of its meaning?" I challenged.

He glared at me, looking like he was going to strike my face. "Particularly two women. Particularly two women _alone_."

"What makes yeh think they're alone?" Barbossa said, limping down the stone staircase to meet us.

The man speaking to us stepped over to our captain. "You protect them?"

"And what makes you think we need protecting?" Elizabeth asked after taking out a knife and putting it against his neck, holding him back. His men had taken out their guns and pointed them at her.

"Your master's expectin' us," Barbossa said. "And an unexpected death'd cast a slight pall on our meetin'."

Elizabeth looked annoyed and relented her grip on the man who would soon introduce himself to us as Tai Huang.

"Pick those feet up!" cried a voice from up above.

One of Tai Huang's men shushed us and motioned to hide against the wall. Being the furthest person from said wall, I almost didn't get there in time to hide from the troops marching above us. Barbossa grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into him hard. We watched as the troops came down a set of stairs and went the opposite way from us.

"On thee double!"

"Eyes front!"

Tai Huang and his men ducked into an alleyway and Barbossa let go of me so we could follow them.

"Have you heard anything from Will?" Elizabeth asked, her paddy hat resting on her back. I, meanwhile, held mine under my arm.

"I trust young Turner to acquire the charts, and you to remember yer place in the presence of Captain Sao Feng," Barbossa said from my right.

"Is he _that_ terrifying?" I smirked.

"He's much like myself, but absent my merciful nature and sense of fair play," Barbossa joked.

Tai Huang stopped and turned at a large, round door. He took off his hat and knocked three times. A small panel at eye-level opened up and he muttered a word. The panel closed and then the door opened up.

We came in to a small room, where another door lay in front of us. Tai Huang had stopped us and demanded we remove our weapons. Barbossa gave up his guns and Elizabeth and I handed over our knives. I tried to step up, but Tai Huang held his hand out.

"Do you think because they are _women_ we would not suspect them of treachery?" he glowered at Barbossa.

The captain paused, because that was exactly his thought-process. Underneath all our garb, we were packing extra weapons.

"Well, when yeh put it _that_ way…" he gave one of his fake smiles.

"Remove. Please," Tai Huang addressed us again.

Elizabeth did not look happy. We started to strip off our outermost layer of clothing. Each of us had harnesses attached to our chests, strapped with guns. I took that off and handed it to the guard beside me. But then Elizabeth took out a grenade and tossed it in the air before putting it down by all the other weapons. Then, thinking she could get away with one more thing, she leaned back and pulled out a large gun from God only knows where.

Barbossa and I both leaned back to see where she was getting it all from. He then looked at me and I held my hands up.

This time, Elizabeth tried to step forward and Tai Huang glanced at me and then looked at her with a terrifying gleam in his eyes.

"Remove…please."

He took us behind a changing screen and made us strip down naked to see if we had anything else. But he stared for far too long, his mouth curling into a smile. Then we were given _very_ small robes to wear—Elizabeth's was dark blue, mine was maroon.

When we came back to the small room, Barbossa was glowering at us, as if it were _our_ fault that had to happen. But then Tai Huang allowed us to enter.

We were guided through the dark boathouse by a very large, half-naked man with a giant tattoo on his back. As we followed him, the barnacled patrons in giant bathtubs were staring. One made a vulgar tongue gesture at me and before I even knew what I was doing, I reached forward to grab Barbossa's sleeve in front of me, using my other hand to keep the back of my robe down.

He turned his head and I think he was smirking, because he let me still hold onto him. But I let go after a moment.

Finally, the large guard took a step to the side and we came to the end of the bathhouse. He jerked his head and we took a few more steps forward. Since we were on a floor with large spaces between planks of wood and our crew was going to be below us, I stood with my legs crossed to avoid any wandering eyes. There were more guards around the edge of it. On a platform before us, a cloud of steam dissipated and two women spun around slowly, revealing a bald man in a robe. His back was to us and he held his arms out. Then he turned around. He had scars on the side of his head and a long mustache.

Barbossa sank into a bow and gestured for Elizabeth and me to copy him. We were standing on opposite sides of him. I bent forward as much as I dared to in the tiny robe.

"Captain Barbossa," Sao Feng said, allowing us to stand up straight again. "Welcome to Singapore." Barbossa nodded his head. Sao held up a piece of red cloth to his face and sniffed it. He turned to one of the women standing beside him. "More steam." She nodded and pulled on a rock tied to a string. Moments later, steam shot up from the floor. "I understand that you have a," Sao went down the steps and got closer to Barbossa, "request to make of me."

"More of a _proposal_ to put to ye," Barbossa said. "I've a venture underway and I find myself in need of a ship and crew."

"Hmm," Sao took a step back and scratched his head with his ridiculously long fingernails. "It's an odd coincidence…"

"Because you happen to have a ship and a crew you don't need?" Elizabeth asked.

I gulped and Barbossa turned to look at her. So much for remembering her place.

"No," Sao said, ignoring her interruption. He seemed to be faking his wonder. He stopped scratching his head and I was glad. The noise was giving me gooseflesh. "Because earlier this day, not far from here, a thief broke into my most revered uncle's temple," he stepped over to an old man who was holding onto a set of charts, "and tried to make off with _these_," he grabbed the object from the old man and turned back to us.

I exchanged glances with Barbossa. It was Will's job to get those charts while we tried to cajole the other supplies.

"The navigational charts," Sao Feng elucidated. "The route…to the Farthest Gate." Then he angrily threw them over to Tai Huang. He took a few steps closer to Barbossa. "Wouldn't it be amazing if this venture of yours…took you to the world," he swept his hand up into the air, "beyond this one?"

"It would strain credulity at that," Barbossa said carefully.

Sao Feng smiled and took a few steps back. The he turned his head to a tub of water that some guards were standing by. He jerked his head up and the guards lifted a pole out of the water. Tied to that pole, and gasping for air, was a very wet, very _captured_, Will Turner.

Barbossa took a step back, so he was next to Elizabeth, as Sao went over to the tub and placed a hand on his hip. Our captain was probably worried. Not about Will, of course, but about this hurting our chances at getting a ship and crew.

"This is the thief," Sao pointed at Will. "Is his face familiar to you?" We all shook our heads no. And then Sao pulled out a fid from his robes. "Then I guess…he has no further need for it." And he leaned over and started to thrust the fid up under Will's jaw.

"No-no!" Elizabeth gasped from behind me.

I closed my eyes and looked down at the floor. I figured that Sao Feng was only threatening to do this to test us, and I was willing to bet Barbossa figured it too. Elizabeth might as well have ruined all our chances. For a smart girl, she could be pretty stupid.

"You come into my city…and you betray my hospitality," Sao's voice got closer to me. I looked up and saw him closing in on Barbossa.

"Sao Feng," our captain said, "I assure you I had no idea—"

"That he would get caught!" the Asian man yelled. In response, some of his men got out of their tubs and came up behind us. Barbossa stared down Sao Feng until he turned around walked up to the steps. "You intend to attempt a voyage into Davy Jones' locker."

I heard the sound of someone smacking into something. I looked around Barbossa and saw that he had held an arm out to stop Elizabeth from stepping forward and doing something else to ruin our chances even more.

"But I cannot help but wonder," Sao raised a hand and then turned around to face us. "Why?" He had a menacing look on his face.

Barbossa looked at him and then threw a piece of eight at him. The coin made a loud ringing noise. Sao caught it and blew on it, holding it up to his ear.

"The song has been sung," Barbossa went forward. "The time is upon us. We must convene the Brethren Court. As one of the nine pirate lords, you must honor the call."

Sao Feng looked down at the coin in his palm. He balled his hand into a fist. Then he just stared at our feet.

"More steam," he ordered. The woman pulled down on the rock, but nothing happened. That was a sign that our crew had infiltrated down below. "MORE STEAM!" he shrieked, whipping around to face the startled woman. She pulled on the rock one more time. And once Sao enjoyed the effect, he took a steps towards the woman who pulled the rock, while Barbossa headed near Will. "There is a price on all our heads… It is true. It seems the only way a pirate can turn a profit anymore…" he turned his head to Will, "is by betraying…other…pirates."

"It be time to put our differences aside," Barbossa said. "The First Brethren Court gave us rule of the seas. But now that rule is being challenged by Lord Cutler Beckett," he uttered the name venomously.

"Against the East India Trading Company, what value is the Brethren Court? What can any of us do?"

"You can fight!" Elizabeth burst, springing forward. One of the guards grabbed her arm. "Get off me!" she told him, turning to face the Asian pirate. I admired her audacity. "You are Sao Feng, the pirate lord of Singapore. You command in an age of piracy where-where bold captains sail free waters. Where waves aren't measured in feet, but as increments of fear and those who pass the test become legend. Would you have that era come to an end on your watch? The most notorious pirates from around the world are uniting against our enemy and yet you sit here, cowering in your bathwater!"

Sao Feng stared down at her. Then he took a few steps in her direction. She looked over at Barbossa, as though to see if what she did was okay. And when the pirate came too close, she stepped back, almost knocking into me.

"Elizabeth Swann," Sao came down and circled around her. I wondered how he knew her name as I slowly advanced towards Barbossa. "There is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there? And the eye…does not go wanting."

From behind me, Will lunged forward. I turned and stared at him. He was glowering at Sao Feng. I turned back and saw Barbossa staring at me. I met his eye and then looked back at Elizabeth.

"But I cannot help but notice," Sao put his index finger in the air and walked to the steps. He pointed his finger at Barbossa and said, "_You_ have failed to answer my question. What is it you seek in Davy Jones' Locker?"

"Jack Sparrow," Will answered.

At the name of the captain, the two women giggled. I wondered if they'd had…_relations_ with him. Wouldn't be surprised…

"He's one of the pirate lords," Will continued.

Sao looked like he was bubbling with anger. He grimaced and rubbed his head with his fingertips. Then he stepped over towards a small table.

"The only reason…I would want Jack Sparrow returned from the land of the dead…is so I can send him back myself!" he kicked over the table and I jumped.

Barbossa looked at me and then went over to the other pirate lord, who turned to face him. I followed him, but stopped next to Elizabeth.

"Jack Sparrow holds one of the nine pieces of eight," Barbossa said. "He failed to pass it along to a successor before he died. So we must go and get him back."

Sao Feng turned his focus to one of the Asian men standing nearby. There must have been something that made him look suspicious because the captain looked furious.

"So," he turned to Barbossa, "you admit…you have deceived me. Weapons!" he shouted, pulling out a sword.

Our captain stepped back and we all watched as men came out of the tubs, holding blades and yelling out battle cries. I gulped and hoped our crew below wouldn't fail us.

"Sao Feng, I assure you, our intentions are strictly honorable," he said, holding out his hands.

Then, three pairs of swords came up from the floor. Barbossa, Elizabeth, and I easily caught them. Barbossa looked at Sao Feng and smiled with a little grunt as though to express to him that he had no idea we were going to be armed like this. The other captain hurried over to the suspicious-looking man and placed his blade up to the man's throat.

"Drop your weapons! Or I kill the man!" he said, his face screwed up in anger.

Barbossa was taken aback. He looked behind him and then back to Sao Feng. The whole thing was confusing. We all thought he was Sao's man…

"Kill 'im. He's not our man," Barbossa said.

"If he's not with you," I started from between my captain and Elizabeth, "and he's not with us…then who's he with?"

And as though to answer my question, the Royal Navy came storming through the door, shouting at the top of their lungs. I gulped and looked to Barbossa as Sao's men got shot down as they tried to defend their captain.

We turned around as more soldiers came from behind us. I fought alongside Barbossa and defended myself quite a bit better than I thought I could.

"WILL!" Elizabeth shouted.

I didn't turn to see what she was doing. I was too busy dodging the attacks of a Navy man. I had just disarmed him when I turned around and saw that the boy was free. He was standing with Sao, Elizabeth, Barbossa, and me.

"READY!" called one of the officers. Several men were poised to shoot at us from across the room. Barbossa reached out his arm and pushed me behind him, so I could use him as a shield. "FIRE!"

I gasped at the sound of fireworks going off, relieved that it wasn't gunfire. Staring over Barbossa's shoulder, I saw the men vanishing in a cloud of smoke and I noticed that most of the floor had collapsed.

Sao Feng held his sword up in the air and shouted something in a foreign language. But the way he gestured with his weapon was enough for us all to know that he was suggesting we go out into the streets.

There was chaos. Native people, pirates, and Navy men running around, shooting at people, swinging swords, screaming.

"Chart!" Sao yelled to someone. He was just ahead of Barbossa and me. The person threw him the object of desire and then the captain disappeared.

I continued to follow Barbossa through the streets, making sure to keep an eye on the dark coat in front of me. I watched as he took on a Navy man and shoved him into a kiosk. Then we made it onto a bridge.

I was halfway across when I realized that the captain wasn't with me anymore. I was about to turn around to see where he was, but then a military man ran up to me. I fought with him for a while. We were both distracted by the sound of something falling into the water below.

"Behind yeh!" Barbossa shouted, to warn me that he was coming across the bridge to help me out. I stepped off to the side and let the seasoned captain take the Navy man.

I had just enough time to catch my breath when another soldier came up to challenge me. I dodged his blade that threatened to slash my stomach and disarmed him just as a firework zoomed across the bridge, going through the intersected swords of Barbossa and the first Navy man. And while the latter was still distracted, Barbossa quickly stabbed him through the stomach, shouting.

I turned around and saw the man I had been dueling running away. I looked back at Barbossa. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a building explode whilst many other fireworks inside were lit.

"Thank you, Jack," Barbossa said, looking at another bridge.

I followed his gaze and saw Monkey Jack, in a little paddy hat that nearly made my heart melt, screeching with Cotton's parrot next to him. It was cute how the two animals had bonded.

"_Squawk! _Thank you, Jack," Cotton's parrot said.

Barbossa grabbed onto my arm and pulled me after him. I was careful not to step on the dead body of the Navy man as we walked off the bridge and found Will. He had the charts and several men behind him, including Tai Huang.

"You have the charts?" Barbossa asked fiercely as Tia Dalma came up behind us.

"And better yet," Will tossed the charts to the captain. "A ship and a crew."

"Where's Sao Feng?" I asked while the rest of the original crew of the _Black Pearl_ joined Tia Dalma.

"He'll cover our escape and meet us at Shipwreck Cove," Will explained.

"This way," Tai Huang said darting off. "Be quick!"

Barbossa put his hand on the small of my back and led me with everyone else to the _Hai Peng_—a junk ship, but a ship nonetheless. I couldn't help but feel a little tingly at the way he touched me.

* * *

"Keegan," Gibbs came over to me once he got on the ship. He threw a heavy drawstring sack into my arms. It was wet, but it was better than nothing. "I'd let it dry out a bit before yeh change," he suggested.

"Thank you," I wrapped an arm around the salty old man. He hesitated before hugging me back. He had carried my clothes in the sack while traveling through the river. There was no way I was wearing the little robe around all the time.

"Haul the snotters with a will!" Gibbs shouted as I walked away.

Remembering some of the night's events, I went and found Barbossa at the steering mechanism. He didn't notice me until I was right in front of him, toying with the tip of my braid.

"Somethin' be on yer mind, Miss Lynch?" he asked, laying his blue eyes on me. I gulped at the tingly feeling that returned to the pit of my stomach.

"Er," I bit my lip. "I just wanted to thank you."

"And why, may I ask, would ye be wantin' to do such a thing?"

"You protected me," I said, smiling a bit.

Barbossa scrutinized me. He didn't have much of a facial expression, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking at that instant.

"Aye. That I did," he finally responded, a smirk on his scarred face.

"Right. So…thank you," I bowed my head a little and turned to walk off. I felt his eyes still on me. For a moment, I didn't know what I was doing and found myself swinging my hips a bit more than normal.

I stood at the railing near a morose-looking Tia Dalma. Unloading the sack, I pulled out my boots and placed them on the ground by my feet. Then I reached in and grabbed my damp poet shirt, hanging it safely over the railing. Next came my corset. Then my breeches. Elizabeth walked over, standing on the other side of the obeah woman.

"There's no place left for Sao Feng to cower," the girl said. "Do you think he will honor the call?"

"I kyannot say," Tia admitted. "There's an evil on dese seas that even the most staunch and bloodt'irsty pirates have come to fear."

* * *

Just wondering...should I attempt a (dare I say it?) lemon in the future and bump up the rating to M? Let me know


	17. Moonlit Talks

**_Crunch!_**** I bit** into a green apple. I wiped the juice off my chin and chewed slowly. The fruit tasted delicious in my mouth. I understood why Barbossa enjoyed them so much. I swallowed and leaned against the railing. I didn't have my favorite barrel to sit on, but this would do.

"Good evening," said a female voice from behind me.

I turned and saw Elizabeth coming up to me. "Hello."

"I can't express to you how happy I am to have another female aboard. It gets quite lonely being the only one," she mused. I nodded, understanding how she felt.

"Then you must be especially happy that Tia Dalma is with us as well," I said.

"Yes, well, she isn't much for friendly conversation," Elizabeth pointed out.

"I suppose that's true," I nodded.

We were quiet for a moment.

"So, ahem, I have been told that you are the Lynches' daughter."

"Mmm. I'm surprised you know of them," I gave her a sidelong glance.

"Oh, yes. My guiltiest pleasure as a child was reading about pirates," she told me. "I had always wanted to meet one."

"Was it as exciting as you thought?" I grinned.

"Yes, I suppose. I definitely got more than I ever hoped for."

We were quiet for another moment, just staring at the night sky. Then she spoke up again.

"If you don't mind, would you tell me the story of the night they…?"

"Died?" I filled in, taking another bite of my apple. "Sure.

"I was about four years of age when it happened. I was asleep and woke to the sound of cannons firing. As I crept out of the bed, I could hear the fire crackling and the guns shooting. I was used to it most of the time. But it sounded too close. So I opened the door and saw that our own ship was ablaze. There was a brig beside us and their crew was fighting ours. They outnumbered us greatly. Men that had practically raised me lay bleeding on the deck. One even grabbed onto my ankle and told me to get to safety.

"I saw my father giving his all against three different men. His arm was cut open, but he wouldn't let that stop him. Not until one of the swords plunged into his chest. I looked away and found my mother curled up by a barrel. Her hands were pressing into a gash on her stomach, but she was still alive. She told me she loved me and…"

I suddenly remembered a detail I had forgotten after all these years.

"…To tell Hector she was sorry."

"Hector?" Elizabeth questioned. "As in—?"

"As in me."

I whipped my head around and saw Barbossa standing behind us.

"Continue the story," he nodded to me, crossing his arms.

"Sh-she died shortly after that. I was about to get up and hide when a sword ripped my back open," I explained, absentmindedly reaching across my chest to touch my right shoulder, where the scar ended. "The pain was excruciating. I almost fainted. But Gibbs, our willing _hostage_, fought the blackguard off and readied the longboat. He took me with him and we left my parents' ship before it sank to the depths."

"But why did she apologize to _you_?" Elizabeth scrutinized Barbossa. Clearly she had forgotten when he told me to give my mother a kiss for him.

"She left me. For Miss Lynch's father," he explained. But it looked as though he was holding something back. I stared at him, hoping he'd elaborate, but he didn't. "Yeh'll catch cold if ye stay out here too long, Miss Swann. I'd suggest goin' below deck with your _betrothed_."

The young woman paused, trying to get a read on the captain. But his facial expression never faltered. She shifted her eyes to me and I shrugged my shoulders subtly. Without another word, she strode off.

"Did you see her?" I asked quietly.

"Aye," Barbossa told me. "Long after Jack Sparrow shot me, she came to me. Said she was so proud o' her daughter. Said it broke her heart to see yeh so morose."

I sighed and looked at my feet. But then he grabbed my chin and lifted my head up.

"Said she had hoped I could've made yeh happy just the way she used to make meself," he added, letting go of my chin. "Before I died, of course."

"I suppose that didn't end up working out the way she hoped," I smirked and took another bite of the apple, "seeing as you left me on an island to die. And then tied my hands behind me back so tightly that it cut my skin open."

"Can yeh blame me fer being bitter?" Barbossa responded. "She was me first _real_ love."

"Did you ever see her after that? When you were both still alive?"

"Once," he admitted. "Aislinn wrote me a charmin' little letter and we met in Shipwreck Cove. Told me ye had been born."

"What else did you talk about?" I asked curiously.

Barbossa looked away from my eyes and licked his lips. "There be a long journey ahead of us, Miss Lynch. I'd suggest gettin' as much sleep as yeh can."

Taking that as my cue to leave, I bowed my head. "Good night, Captain."

"Pleasant dreams, Miss Lynch."

* * *

"What did you and Barbossa speak about last night?" Elizabeth asked me as we swabbed the deck on our hands and knees. "If you don't mind me asking."

I used my upper arm to swipe back my flyaway hairs that were sticking to my sweaty temple and tickling my face. "Nothing much. Just me mother."

"I don't quite see why he had to usher me off to bed, then," she muttered.

Shrugging, I decided to just let her complain under her breath. She had clung to me, ever since she chose to give Will the cold shoulder. I didn't mind her presence. In fact, it _was_ nice to have another woman to talk to. There were just certain things that needed to be kept between certain people.

"Oi!" Pintel exclaimed.

I looked up and saw him standing by the railing near us, pointing a stubby finger out in the water. Ragetti was at his side, blocking my view. I almost got up to see what they were staring at, but that wasn't going to be necessary.

"A schooner," the lanky one said.

"Probably filled with riches for us to take," Pintel continued, grabbing onto his companion's bony shoulders. "Finally—a bloody speck of honest piratin'!"

"It's been so long since we've successfully stolen something," Ragetti said in his ever mournful-sounding voice.

"Are we really going to raid that ship?" Elizabeth asked me.

"I think it'd be a waste of time if we did," I said truthfully.

The gruesome twosome ran off, no doubt to tell Barbossa about the ship in the distance. I wondered if the captain would agree with my position. I kept swabbing the deck and waited patiently for the end result.

Pintel and Ragetti trudged back, pouting like youths. The stout one rested his elbows on the railing and slumped, while the tall one stood with his head down. They stayed like that for a long time, until the ship they'd seen earlier passed us. Pintel grabbed a piece of wood from the railing that was already starting to chip and he ripped it off, throwing it towards the schooner with an angry yell.

"I didn't know I had petulant children on me crew," Barbossa said loudly. He was standing behind the two men and he didn't look happy. Everyone on deck was watching silently. "I understand the lust for swag, but now is not the time or place to be pillagin'. We are aboard a _junk ship_ that is already in rough condition. The _Hai Peng_ won't be survivin' any attacks. An' it won't do to take any treasure, I can promise ye that.

"Now, unless ye want me cuttin' out yer eyeballs an' wearin 'em about me ears, I'd suggest yeh start workin'."

The two stared at the captain with wide eyes. Barbossa glanced down at Elizabeth and me.

"Misses Swann and Lynch, why don't ye let these two blunderin' idiots take over?" he said, glaring at Pintel and Ragetti.

"Aye-aye, Captain," I grinned. "If yeh think that's best."

We got to our feet and my knees began screaming at me. My arms were sore from scrubbing and I was not going to contest the break we were receiving, so I handed my swab to Ragetti and headed for my hammock down below.

* * *

"_Screech!_"

"_Squaaaawk!_ There she blows!"

I smiled. Jack the Monkey scrambled onto my shoulder and Cotton's parrot flew over my head. It was nighttime and I found myself restless. I had climbed the stairs up to the main deck and took my favorite spot at the railing. Nearly everyone else was below, snoring in their hammocks.

"While I do so enjoy our moonlit talks," Barbossa started, coming to my side and leaning his back against the railing, "I'd be lyin' if I said 'twasn't worryin' me yeh're not gettin' any sleep. Most underestimate the power of a good night's rest—'specially fer a sailor."

I looked over at him, surprised that my slumber was causing him any sort of uneasiness, and shrugged. "Then why aren't you asleep?"

"Who else here be qualified to navigate our way to the Farthest Gate?"

"Good point," I murmured.

"What be _your_ excuse, Miss Lynch?" Barbossa turned and put his hands on the railing, one very close to mine. I looked at the beautiful rings stacked upon his long fingers.

"My body wouldn't let me sleep," I told him. Monkey Jack jumped over to his owner's shoulder.

"I suppose I can accept that."

I looked back down and tried to hide the smile that was creeping onto my face. I was falling for Barbossa harder than I ever thought I would. He was old enough to be my father, he had done so many wicked things, he had betrayed one of the most important men in my life. And yet every time I saw those steely blue eyes my stomach went aflutter. But then one thought popped into my mind, and his response to it could've made or broken whatever feelings I had for the man.

"I have a question," I said before I could stop myself.

"Ask it, then," Barbossa dipped his head.

"W-Was it your crew…" I began, unsure how he would react to the rest—unsure how _I_ would react to his answer, "…that attacked our ship and made me an orphan?"

The captain sighed and I feared the worst.

"Yeh seem to have an excellent memory, Miss Lynch. Do ye remember seein' me?" he finally said. He wasn't angry, but he wasn't pleased either.

I closed my eyes and thought back. _I could smell the smoke, hear the clanging of swords, feel the wind blowing through my nightgown. I could see blood. Blood everywhere. I tiptoed over splayed out fingers, their owner laying stiff on the ground. I looked up and surveyed the scene. Pirates fighting pirates. And before a hand gripped my ankle, my eyes fell on a man wearing an elaborate hat, curly light hair hanging down from his head. I heard a voice shouting out a name._

"Capitaine Chevalle," I whispered and looked at Barbossa. "Please take my apology, I didn't mean to accu—"

He held up a hand to silence me. "I understand that I look good fer that, but I can promise ye I'd never've done it to Aislinn, no matter how much she hurt me. 'Specially not when she had a young child."

I nodded and swallowed a knot that was forming in my throat.

"They had bad dealin's, yer parents and Chevalle. 'Twas well-known he despised 'em. Said they intercepted a message written fer him to find a great deal o' shine on the coast o' Marseille. Didn't take that well and swore vengeance, which he clearly received. Even _I_ found it a bit over the top."

I chuckled bitterly. Barbossa _did_ have a flair for the dramatic.

"When we heard, me crew was expectin' me to celebrate. I locked meself in me quarters and finished many a bottle of rum that night," he finished.

"I suppose I can accept that," I said, grinning at the man beside me.

"Provided everything goes accordin' to plan," he said, eyeing me with amusement from when I quoted him, "we'll be makin' our way to Shipwreck Cove to speak with the Brethren Court. I'm wonderin' if yeh'll be able to act _rationally_ 'round Chevalle."

"He's a _lord_?" I furrowed my brow. "He clearly violated the Code—'Knowingly targeting and sinking other pirate ships is strictly forbidden'."

"Believe you me, I'm aware o' that particular rule," Barbossa interjected.

I had heard a story about the original Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, Boris Palachnik, who had been attacking other pirate ships—one of which was Barbossa's—and paid for his crimes dearly.

"Then how?" I asked.

"Some say he admitted what he did and Captain Teague was feelin' kind that day. But others, includin' me, believe he paid Teague off with all the swag he had—includin' what he took from yer parents' holds. Hence why he refers to himself as 'the penniless Frenchman'," Barbossa explained.

"I see," I nodded. "I will try my very hardest to remain civil."

"Good on yeh," he said to me. "I tried _my_ very hardest not to hit him on his painted face the first time I saw him after I found the news, but I'm sure yeh'll have more luck than I did, Miss Lynch."

I beamed at him, thankful he had defended at least my mother's honor. "Yeh don't have to call me Miss Lynch."

"Very well, then. I'd strongly suggest ye go try once more to sleep, _Keegan_."

"Aye-aye," I saluted and began walking off.

"One more thing," he called out. I spun on my heel and gave him my full attention. "We're not many days off from the Ice Passage. Blankets be limited aboard this here ship and I seem to be in possession of the only two. It goes without sayin' that Miss Swann will be gettin' one. I wouldn't be livin' up to me _gentlemanly_ status if I didn't offer the second one to you, now would I?"

"Of course, I'll take it," I nodded. "Thank you."

He bowed his head. "Good night, Keegan."

"And unto you."

I went down below deck and stopped trying to fight the smile on my face. I was smitten with Hector Barbossa and there was no denying it.


	18. No Reason For Sadness

** True to his** word, we did head into the Ice Passage not long after our late-night discussion. It grew colder every day. Too cold for me to wait by the railing at night for Barbossa to speak to me; instead I'd lay in my hammock imagining what talks we'd be having. I didn't see him much during the day either. On the event he would stray from the steering mechanism, I would steal a glance and every so often he would catch my eye. I'd smile and he'd bow his head, but that was about as much interaction we had until it got _very_ cold.

I had woken up covered in a thick, scratchy blanket. I smiled, wondering if Barbossa had snuck down below and placed it over my sleeping body. I swung out of the hammock and touched the soles of my boots to the floor. I was the last to rise that morning, my lack of sleep evidently catching up on me. Wrapping the blanket tightly around my shoulders, I made my way on deck.

We were sailing carefully through giant icebergs. Snow was falling upon us and I remembered how much I hated winter.

The crew was seated, huddled, trying to keep warm. I felt a little guilty for having the blanket, but there was no way I was going to give it up. However, I would share it. Especially with a cute monkey dressed in human clothes.

Jack the Monkey was seated next to Pintel and Ragetti, shaking his fur to get the snow off. He snapped his head to me and screeched quietly, running over and climbing up my legs and chest. He shook his fur one more time, then burrowed into my blanket, wrapping his arms around my neck. What little snow he had left was melting against my skin and I shivered more than I had been before, but it was worth it.

"No one said anythin' about _cold_," Pintel complained.

"I'm sure there must be…a good reason for our suffering," Ragetti said.

"Why don't that obeah woman just bring Jack back the same way she brought back _Barbossa_?"

"Because Barbossa was only dead," Tia Dalma answered, glaring at him from not far away. She stepped forward, her arms crossed to keep her shawl taut around her shoulders. "Jack Sparrow is tyaken, body and soul, to a plyace not of death…but punishment. De worst fyate a person can bring 'pon 'imself…stretching on forever. That's what awaits at Davy Jones' Lockah."

She kept walking and I turned on my heel as well. I went past one of Tai Huang's men who accidentally ripped off his frozen toe, past Will and Tai Huang himself trying to figure out Sao Feng's chart, over to the steering mechanism where stood Gibbs and Barbossa. Elizabeth sat curled up in her blanket. She looked at me to sit with her, but I stayed near the two men.

"Glad to see yeh finally got some rest," Barbossa gave me a knowing smile and I let out a breathy chuckle.

Gibbs turned to me from where he stood at the railing. He took a few steps over and put a strong arm around my shoulders. I smiled at the older man and turned to see Will and Tai Huang striding towards the captain. Will handed him the chart and Barbossa examined them closely, holding them down once he was done.

"Do you care to interpret, _Captain_ _Barbossa_?" Will asked poisonously. There was something about him that seemed different ever since we departed from Singapore.

"Ever gazed upon the Green Flash, Master Gibbs?" Barbossa asked, turning his head to meet the man at my side.

"I reckon I seen my fair share. Happens on rare occasion. The last glimpse of sunset, a green flash shoots up into the sky. Some go their whole lives without ever seein' it. Some _claim_ to've seen it who ain't. And some say—"

"It signals when a soul comes back to this world…from the _dead_," Pintel filled in. I just realized that he and Ragetti had joined us. Gibbs didn't seem very happy that he had interrupted. "Sorry…"

"Trust me, young Master Turner," Barbossa said, handing Will the rolled-up chart. "It's not gettin' to the Land of the Dead that's the problem." He pulled the steering mechanism closer to him. "It's gettin' back."

His words sent a shiver down my already freezing spine.

Will and Tai Huang went back to where they had been sitting earlier, Pintel and Ragetti dispersing themselves. I broke free of Gibbs' overprotective hold and stood near the railing, watching as we turned a tight corner and entered a narrow ice cave.

"It's been a long few days not bein' able to look forward to a visit with the likes of you, Keegan," Barbossa said, coming up beside me. I assumed Gibbs had taken a crack at navigating.

"Oh, aye," I agreed. "Yer voice near haunted me dreams."

"Thank ye, by the way, fer takin' care o' Jack," he gestured to the monkey hanging out of my front.

"My pleasure," I smiled as the monkey nuzzled his head into the neck of my shirt. "Thank _you_ for the blanket."

"See, Kee-gan?"

I looked over and found Tia Dalma right where Pintel and Ragetti had been. She smirked at me, her eyes flashing over to Barbossa for a moment.

"I told ya dere'd be no reason for sadness," she reminded me before ambling off. I found myself, yet again, unable to contain the joy I was feeling inside.

Barbossa was quiet for a moment, then he cleared his throat. "I promise, it won't be so cold much longer. Nay. Soon it'll be _much_ smoother sailin'."

* * *

He was right yet again. Once we had gotten past the Ice Passage, the air was warmer and the water was so smooth and glassy that we reflected perfectly on it.

Down the railing from me, not too far, stood Elizabeth. She faced away from me, but I could tell something was on her mind. And Will must have noticed it too, for he climbed up the small set of stairs to come speak with her. As he walked past me, I wasn't sure if I should just make like I was lost in my thoughts and not listening or if I should walk away to give them their privacy.

I let curiosity get the best of me and chose the first option.

"How long do we continue not talking?" he asked the girl.

I didn't dare look out of the corner of my eye to see if she turned around or not.

"…Once we rescue Jack, everything will be all fine," Elizabeth said.

I had a feeling Will wasn't going to appreciate that answer.

"…Then we rescue Jack."

There was a long pause between the both of them. Eventually, Elizabeth just walked off and the boy took a few steps forward. I was contemplating patting Will on the shoulder when something caught my eye hovering above the water in front of the ship.

Mist. Like we were about to go over a waterfall.

I turned around, as did Will, and there stood Tia Dalma next to me. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, but I could tell she was addressing Will.

"For what we want most," she choked out, "dere is a cost must be paid in de end."

Will considered her words. Then he looked down at the music box hanging around her neck. Realization set in the young man and he shoved past us. I was kind of confused, but I followed him as he ran down to the other end of the ship where Barbossa was steering.

"Barbossa! Ahead!" Will said as Gibbs and the rest of the crew came about.

"Aye, we're good and lost now," the captain confidently said.

"Lost?" Elizabeth asked, she must have been behind me.

"Fer certain yeh have to be lost to find a place as can't be found. Elseways, _everyone_ would know where it was."

"We're gainin' speed," Gibbs looked up from the water.

"Aye!" Barbossa nodded. It seemed to be frustrating to him that everyone was in such tizzy.

"…To stations!" Will roared.

All of the crew, save for me, followed him to the other part of the deck. I looked at Barbossa and he gave me a grin, like he was proud that I was the only one who didn't move.

"All hands to stations!" Will yelled.

"I trust you," I told him as people started shouting.

"Good," the captain opened his eyes wide. "Maybe ye can convince Master Turner to do so as well." Then he stepped down from the steering mechanism and offered me his arm. Blushing, I took it and he led me out onto the busy deck.

"Rudder full! Hard aport! Gather way!" Will continued to order.

"NAY! BELAY THAT!" Barbossa hollered. "LET HER RUN STRAIGHT AND TRUE!"

The sound of the massive waterfall was getting louder by the second. I gulped and tensed up as the captain took me up to the bow, where some of our crew had run up to.

"You've doomed us all," Elizabeth accused, turning around and stepping over to him.

"Don't be so unkind," he let go of my arm and wound a rope around his own. "Yeh may not survive to pass this way again," then he grabbed onto her jaw, displaying the fingernails he had painted black, "and these be the last friendly words you'll hear."

Sharply, she turned around. Barbossa grabbed onto my waist and pulled me in front of him. Grasping that we were going over this waterfall and that he'd taken hold of the line to stay safe, I threw my arms around his neck and held on for dear life.

Around us, the crew frantically tried to turn the ship around. Tia Dalma was praying nearby. People were shouting. I was still tensed up about the inevitable fall over the edge. Barbossa seemed calm.

Finally, the crew gave up, even though they had successfully turned the ship. Will shouted for them to hold on. The boat started to tip and the crew was yelling. I was squeezing my eyes shut. And what was Barbossa doing?

Laughing.

I kid you not, he was chortling as though someone had just told him a funny joke. I could feel his strong body shaking as the ship went vertical. But he must have sensed how scared I was because he tightened his grip around my waist just as the boat flipped over in the air.


	19. What Are You Doing?

** I took in** as much air as I possibly could when I reached the surface. My arms were still wrapped around Barbossa's neck. I could feel him holding onto me, cradling me to his chest. He started walking on the sea floor.

All around us, crewmen kept popping up from the water. We were surrounded by the sounds of splashing and gasping. But I focused on the pendant hanging from Barbossa's neck. A snake was coiled around the gold that held the ruby in place. It sat on the patch of skin not covered by his shirt or frock coat.

"Thank you," I puffed out, nuzzling my forehead into his collar.

"'Tis not a problem at all," he told me, making his way gallantly onto the beach.

There was not much to the Locker. Mostly sand scattered with debris from the _Hai Peng_'s tumble over the edge of the world. The crew, coughing and panting, clambered onto the beach as well.

"This truly is a Godforsaken place," Gibbs muttered up ahead, staring into the dunes.

"I don't see Jack," Elizabeth said as she and Marty came up beside the older man. "I don't see anyone."

"He's here," Barbossa assured her, not putting me down until they all turned. "Davy Jones never once gave up that what he took."

Will trudged up behind us. "And does it matter? We're trapped here by _your_ doing. No different from Jack."

Speaking of Jack, the monkey screeched from a ways down the beach, where Tia Dalma stood. He had his furry arms wrapped around a chart sticking out of the water, watching little crabs scuttle under the obeah woman's skirts.

"Witty Jack…is closer than you tink," she said, stroking one of said crabs in her hands.

Grasping onto Barbossa's sleeve, I looked over the dunes and saw black sails coming closer and closer, until the entire _Black Pearl_ slid down the dune and into the water—propelled by more crabs. I could barely make out a figure standing atop the foremast.

"Impossible," Tai Huang whispered.

"…Boat," Ragetti said.

"Slap me thrice and hand me to me mama. It's Jack," Gibbs said before running over to the ship.

Elizabeth took a few steps, but then halted and looked over at Will. Together, they joined the rest of the crew in following Gibbs as Jack lowered himself into a longboat and rowed to the beach.

"Ye can run off if ye wish," Barbossa told me, gesturing to everyone ahead of us on their low-speed chase.

"I'd rather stay with you, if yeh don't mind," I told him.

Without a word, he offered me his arm and I looped mine with his. He smirked and we started walking forward. I picked up the chart that had been sticking out of the beach on the way and Barbossa tucked it under his free arm.

"It's the captain!"

"A sight fer sore eyes!"

"_Squaawk! _Hide the rum."

"Mr. Gibbs," Jack said fiercely, coming up to us.

"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs replied.

"I thought so. I expect you're able to account for your actions, then," he said. He was going mad…der.

"Sir?"

"There's been a perpetual and virulent lack of discipline upon my vessel. _Why_? Why is that, sir?" Jack growled.

"Sir, you're…" Gibbs glanced off to the side. "You're in Davy Jones' Locker, Cap'n."

Jack's angry face started to twitch. He paused, trying to think of an answer. "I know that... I know where I am. And don't think I don't."

"Jack Sparra," Barbossa stepped forward with me in tow.

The other captain turned and almost looked excited to see him. "Ah, Hector!" He jaunted over. "It's been too long…hasn't it?"

"Aye. Isla de Muerta, remember?" Barbossa said amiably. "Yeh _shot_ me."

"…No, I didn't."

Jack almost walked away, but then he caught my gaze.

"Miss Keegan, a _real_ sight for sore eyes," he took my right hand and kissed each knuckle individually. Then he noticed that I had latched onto the other captain and he scrutinized me. "Are you ill, my dear?"

"Never better," I told him, leaning my head against Barbossa's shoulder.

"That must be the sickness talking. We'll set about finding medicine in the holds once we return to the ship.

"Tia Dalma!" Jack scuttled off to the obeah woman on the other side of Barbossa. "Out and about, eh? You add an agreeable sense of the macabre to any delirium."

She looked confused, but gave him an awkward smile.

"He thinks we're a hallucination," Will pointed out.

"William, tell me something," Jack turned to him. "Have you come because you need my help to save a certain distressing damsel—erm, rather, damsel in distress? Either one."

"No."

"Well, the, you wouldn't be here, would you? So you can't be here. QED, you're not really here," Jack fluttered his fingers.

"Jack," Elizabeth stepped forward. "This is real. We're here."

He looked like he'd seen a ghost, even though he was currently the dead person among us. He pointed to her and struggled to find his words. Then he scampered back over to Gibbs.

"The Locker, you say?" Jack whispered loud enough that we could hear it.

"Aye," Gibbs said.

"We've come to rescue you," Elizabeth had stepped forward again.

Jack whipped around and walked slowly over to her. "Have you now? That's very kind of you. But it would seem that as I possess a ship and _you_ don't, you're the ones in need of rescuing, and I'm not sure as I'm in the mood."

"I see _my_ ship," Barbossa reached over and pointed to the black ship in the water. "Right there."

Jack scooted around me and tried to get a good look. "Can't spot it. Must be a tiny little thing hiding somewhere behind the _Pearl_."

I pursed my lips tightly and tried not to smile.

"Jack," Will came up to him impatiently, Elizabeth and Tia Dalma following, "Cutler Beckett has the heart of Davy Jones. He controls the _Flying Dutchman_."

"He's taking over the seas," I added when Barbossa and I joined the huddle.

"De song has already been sung. De Bredren Court is called," Tia Dalma told him.

"Leave you people alone for just a minute, look what happens. Everything's gone to pot," Jack pranced forward, his hands flailing in the air as usual.

"Aye," Gibbs rumbled. "The world needs you back somethin' fierce."

"And you need a crew," Will said, causing Jack to stop and turn around.

"Why should I sail wiv any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past. One of you succeeded," he gestured toward Elizabeth.

Will looked over at her in shock.

"Oh, she's not told you," Jack strolled closer. "You'll have _loads_ to talk about while you're here. As for you…" He closed in on Tia Dalma.

"Now…don't tell me ya didn't _enjoy_ it at de time," she said flirtatiously, touching his braided goatee.

I wasn't sure I wanted to know that she was talking about.

"Fair enough," Jack grinned. "All right, you're in." He started to walk down the line of people. "Don't need you—you scare me," he told Ragetti. "Gibbs, you can come. Marty. Mm," he directed that negative hum to Pintel. "Cotton."

"_Squawk!_"

"Cotton's parrot—I'm a little iffy, but…at least I'll have someone to talk to. Now, where is Miss Keegan? I do believe she is ill and the safest place for her to be is on my ship."

I let go of Barbossa's arm and ducked behind him, facing his long braid that hung down his back. I was quite thankful that Jack ran into the leader of Sao Feng's crew.

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"Tai Huang," he gestured to the party behind him. "These are my men."

"Where do your allegiances lie?"

"With the highest bidder."

"I have a ship."

"That makes you the highest bidder."

"Good man. Weigh anchor, all hands! Prepare to make sail!" Jack pulled out his compass and looked at it as most of our group rushed over to the _Pearl_.

"_Squaaawk! _Weigh anchor!" Cotton's parrot repeated.

"Jack," Barbossa pulled out the charts after the other captain gave up on the compass. "Which way are yeh goin', Jack?" I peeked out from behind his elbow. The rest of the rejects—Pintel, Ragetti, Elizabeth, and Will—stood after us. Monkey Jack climbed onto his shoulder and he tapped his fingers on the charts. Monkey Jack tilted his cute little head to the side and screeched.

Human Jack did not look pleased.

* * *

"Trim that sail!" Barbossa ordered from one side of the deck.

"Trim that sail!" Jack said after him, trailing along the other side of it, looking at his former first mate. He seemed to be trying to outdo him.

"Slack windward brace and sheet!"

"Slack windward brace and sheet!"

"Haul the pennant line!"

"Haul that pennant line!"

"What _are_ you doin'?" Barbossa asked, going around the capstan to meet Jack.

"What are _you_ doing?" Jack yelled.

I watched in amusement from the aft deck.

"No, what _are_ yeh doin'?!"

"What are _you_ doing?!"

"NO, WHAT _ARE_ YEH DOIN'?!"

"WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING?! Mm…Captain gives orders on the ship," Jack tried a new angle.

"The captain of the ship _is_ givin' orders."

"…My ship, makes me captain."

"_They_ be _my_ charts," Barbossa held them up.

"That makes you…'chartman'," Jack retorted.

"STOW IT! THE BOTH O' YOU!" Pintel hollered, interrupting Barbossa's next reply. "THAT'S AN ORDER! UNDERSTAND?!"

I raised my eyebrows and commended the pirate's gall. He got both of the captains to stop and look at him in shock. Everything was silent for a moment.

"Sorry," Pintel said sheepishly. "I just thought, with the captain issue in doubt, I'd frow in my name fer consideration. _Sorry_."

Jack and Barbossa glared at him and then they started to climb the stairs, elbowing each other like they were still children. I chuckled and looked at the main deck from where I stood, the helm directly behind me. I could feel two pairs of eyes on me. Then the back of a hand pressed against my forehead. I rolled my eyes and snapped my head over to Jack, who retracted his hand.

"I'm not ill," I told him.

"No fever that I could feel," he ignored me and tapped his chin, staring into the clouds.

Barbossa came to my side and pulled his spyglass out. Jack poked his head out from the other captain's left and tried once more to outdo him. He took out his own spyglass and opened it, but it was tiny in comparison. He kept pulling on it, sure that it was bigger than that, but to no avail. Barbossa lowered his from his eye for a moment and watched as Jack gave up and sauntered away in defeat.

* * *

"There's a pain in me heart I never thought I'd feel," Gibbs sidled up next to me at the railing. "It's hard fer me to see you growing up, Keegan. I look at you and…I still see that four year-old girl cryin' over her mother."

"Gibbs, that was more than two decades ago," I whispered, leaning against his shoulder.

"I know. And you've grown into a fine woman. I'll be damned if I'm prouder'n anythin' but you," he put an arm around me and rested his calloused hand on my shoulder.

"You raised me well," I told him.

"That I did," he nodded. "I've been lucky, I suppose. I only had to sit with you through that _one_ heartbreak."

I blushed. "I almost forgot about Silas Dornan."

Silas had grown up in Tortuga with me. His mother taught us lessons in her house further down the island from all the debauchery. He was about a year older than me and very handsome.

Well before I had met Jack, Silas decided to court me. We had spoken of marriage and moving to Port Royal to raise five children—all boys, except the last one. I truly believed I loved him and that he loved me. He convinced me to do many things for him, like give him the pocket money I'd received from Gibbs, steal bottles of rum for him, and even allow him my innocence.

When I was seventeen, I caught him entering a brothel and coming back later, clothes and hair rumpled, a stupid smile on his face. I struck him across the face and ran back to the bungalow where Gibbs held me in his arms for near two days.

"But I don't know if I'll be there to sit through another one," Gibbs said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Once everything's done and the dust has settled, it's inevitable that the crew will split. Some will stay with Jack. Others with Barbossa. I think we all know where your loyalties will lie."

His words stung me a little. "I…"

"It's clear to see you're falling in love with him—and he's lettin' you. It's not a match I'd suggest, but it _is_ yer decision. I just hope it ends well," Gibbs let go of me and walked away.

I sighed and tapped the wooden railing beneath my fingertips. I could hear footsteps making their way over to me. There was only one person whose feet I wanted those steps to belong to.

"Somethin' be on yer mind, lass?" Barbossa came to the railing. It was our ritual.

"Too many things," I laughed bitterly. "I'm glad that you're here, though."

He laid his hand atop mine and stroked my skin. "If ever yeh need a list'nin' ear…" he offered. "There's not many I've given that particular privilege to."

"Thank you," I murmured.

I turned to look at his chest, covered by his coat, shirt, and baldric. Underneath no doubt lay a scar from the single shot he had awarded Jack the day he marooned him.

He locked his eyes on me and I met his gaze. Without a word, he shifted the baldric over a little, pulling the lapels of his coat open the way he did in Isla de Muerta. I reached out a hand and touched the vee of his white poet shirt underneath the pendant, feeling his warm skin. I dragged the vee over to his left and found it. There was a dark circle right where I thought it should be, indenting his chest.

"Does it hurt you?" I asked, softly drawing over the outline of the bullet hole.

"Nay," he shook his head. "Just like any of me other _beauty marks_."

I grinned and leaned forward to place a small kiss on the wound. "I like that, calling scars beauty marks."

Barbossa let go of his coat and smirked. "So did Aislinn."

I smiled and turned back to the railing. "I'm a little worried, to be completely honest with you," I admitted, staring down at the water. "I'm afraid of not getting out of here in time."

"I thought ye trusted me."

"I do. But you said it yourself—it's not getting to the land of the dead that's the problem. It's getting back."

There was silence, but I could feel his eyes on me. After a moment, he looked away and started turning around. I didn't want him to leave, but I couldn't think of anything to say. Then I saw something in the water that made me jump backwards.

"Barbossa!" I gasped, covering my mouth.

"Ye may call me Hector," he said, a step away from me.

"No! In the water!" I pointed one finger and took a few shallow breaths.

"What did yeh see?" he asked, coming closer to me. I backed into him and put my hand on his chest once more that evening. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Ghosts," I whispered. "They were in the water."

Barbossa—er, _Hector_—leaned forward, taking me with him a bit, and gazed over the railing. He didn't get scared like I did. For a second, I thought that maybe I had hallucinated and made a fool out of myself over nothing. Then I figured that he just didn't scare easily.

"Ah, so there are," he muttered and straightened up. "Nothin' to be afraid of."

"It just…" I gulped. "I wasn't…"

He inclined his head and gave me a look that said he wasn't going to believe any sort of denial. I blushed.

"It _alarmed_ me…momentarily," I said as Pintel and Ragetti scampered mischievously across the deck.

"Well, I can't say I'm upset," Hector smirked and reached out one of his fingers to stroke my burning cheek. "'Tis not every day a beautiful woman jumps into me arms."

"Can't imagine why," I blurted out, staring into his blue eyes.

I could feel his breath as he laughed through his nose. It was then that I realized he was very close to my face. My lips quivered. Our faces were now almost touching…

The sound of chuckling made me jump again. I turned my head and saw Pintel and Ragetti going back to where they came from originally. This time, they were carrying cannonballs. I watched as they scurried up the stairs and rolled my eyes. God only knew what they were planning on doing.

I turned back and saw Hector staring up at them. He looked annoyed. I had a feeling that our moment was ruined, so I just rested my ear over his heart. Even though I knew he had been resurrected, I was surprised to hear the beat.

"Idiots," he muttered.

Suddenly, tiny specks of light started coming through the fog. And as they got closer, I realized they were lanterns on boats.

I freed myself from his grasp and went back to the railing, staring at the boats. I couldn't see any faces yet, but I hoped not to see any children. Hector came up behind me and grabbed onto my arm. I looked at him and he jerked his head up by the bow, where Will, Gibbs, and Tia Dalma stood with Pintel and Ragetti. He put his hand on the small of my back and guided me there.

"They're not a threat to us. Am I right?" Will asked, removing his hand from the gun in Gibbs' hold.

"We are not'ing but ghosts to dem," Tia told him.

"It's best just let them be," Barbossa said, keeping his hand where it was.

My heart nearly broke when I saw the twin girls seated together. I gulped and leaned against the railing, watching the stoic faces of those who had died at sea. One looked unfortunately familiar.

"It's my father. We've made it back," Elizabeth gasped, popping up on the other side of Hector. "Father! Father, here! Look here!"

"Elizabeth…" Jack said from beside her. "We're not back."

She stared at him for a moment and then turned back to the governor. Will started to reach over me to see if he could grab her hand, but she recoiled and began to walk along the railing, keeping up with the longboat.

"Father!" she barked.

Weatherby Swann finally looked at his daughter. "Elizabeth. Are you dead?"

She shook her head fervently. "No. No," she breathed out.

"I think _I_ am," he said.

"No, you _can't_ be."

"There was this chest, you see… It's odd. At the time, it seemed so important."

"Come aboard," Elizabeth told him.

"And a heart. I learned that if you stab the heart, _yours_ must take its place. And you will sail the seas for eternity. The _Dutchman_ must have a captain. Silly thing to die for…"

"Someone, cast a line," Elizabeth ordered, turning her head to Marty, who stood behind her. "Come back with us!" Marty grabbed a rope and Elizabeth rushed over to him, "Come on!"

"A touch…of destiny," Tia Dalma repeated to Will.

Elizabeth threw the line out into the water, but her father did nothing with it. "Take the line."

"I'm so proud of you, Elizabeth."

"Father, the line! _Take the line_!"

He let it slide over the longboat and Elizabeth started heading towards the aft deck.

"She must not leave de ship!" Tia Dalma yelled, running up to the girl.

"FATHER!"

Barbossa let go of me and we followed the obeah woman up the stairs, along with the rest of the crew…minus Jack.

"PLEASE COME WITH US! NO! I WON'T LEAVE YOU!" Elizabeth cried, trying to climb up the rigging.

"I'll give your love to your mother, shall I?" Swann said, facing forward as he went past the ship.

"Please, I won't let you go!" she shrieked. "No!"

"Elizabeth," Will pried her off the ropes and into his arms. She tried to fight against him, but he held her tightly. He let her cry against his shoulder and looked over at Tia Dalma. "Is there a way?"

She shook her head. "Him at peace."


	20. Up Is Down

** As a favor** to the poor girl, I stayed by Elizabeth's side most of the time, wrapping my arms around her when she started to cry, muttering things like, "It's alright," when I couldn't think of anything to say.

I sat beside her on the steps to the aft deck. She leaned her head on my shoulder and we sat silently. Will stared at her from his spot at the railing. The whole crew was spent, lounging about the deck. We had no water, no rum, nothing to drink.

"If we cyannot escyape dese doldrums before night, I fear we will syail on trackless seas," Tia Dalma said from beside Will. "Doomed to roam de reach between worlds, forever."

"With no water, forever looks to be arriving a mite too soon," Gibbs said as he joined the three.

Will turned away and looked up at Hector on the fore deck. "Why doesn't he _do_ something?"

I felt a bubble of anger in my chest. I stood up and Elizabeth didn't question it. I crossed the deck, shouldering Will on my way. I didn't like what was becoming of him. He used to be so sweet, so kind.

"Me eye!"

"_Screeeeech!_"

"Give it back!"

I found Jack sitting with the chart. I glanced over his shoulder and watched as he turned one of the round panels on it, matching the letters that had been broken in half.

"'Up is down'?" I read.

"That's just maddeningly unhelpful," he said, exchanging glances with me. "Why are these things never clear?" He was silent for a beat. "What? Eh?" He looked at me and I furrowed my brow.

"I didn't say anything," I told him.

He looked out the corners of his eyes to one side of his face. Then over to the other not long after. "Come again? … Well, that's even more than less than unhelpful … I love the sea … I prefer rum. Rum's good."

He really _had_ gone mad in the Locker.

"…A-once every ten years," he said to his left shoulder, as if someone very small were walking across it and had missed what whoever on the right said. "…Even longer, given the deficit of rum." Several beats later, he glared at his right shoulder. "Oh, I _like_ that … Not sunset." Jack leaned forward and spun the panel in the middle that detailed a ship until said ship looked capsized. "Sun_down_…and _rise_." He grabbed onto my hand and said, "Up!" Jack stood and pointed out towards the railing. "What's that?!" he yelped, dragging me behind him as he ran over. Jack and Gibbs came too. "What _is_ that? I don't know. What do _you_ think?" he asked his shoulder.

"Where?" Gibbs asked.

"There," Jack said. Then he yapped and pulled me along as he crossed the deck and went to the other railing.

Hector furrowed his brow at me, but I didn't have the time to explain that Jack was trying to get everyone to help flip the boat over.

More people joined us at each crossing, listening as Jack grunted and stammered. But the ship hadn't started to move much yet.

"What is it?" Elizabeth asked when she came to investigate.

Jack ululated and ran again, still clasped onto my hand.

"He's rockin' the ship," Pintel figured, standing near the table Jack had just been sitting at, Ragetti and Hector behind it.

"We're rocking the ship," I confirmed.

Now the _Pearl_ was moving. As I heard the wood creaking, I was glad that I had my sea legs.

"Time it with the swell," Hector suggested on the stairs that led below the deck.

Pintel and Ragetti had somehow managed to tie themselves upside down on the mast and they looked quite proud of themselves. But it just made my head hurt to look at them.

Hector came up to the deck and ran beside me, grabbing onto my other hand. But eventually I had to let go of both the men holding onto me so we could all grab ahold of the railing. The ship was almost ready to capsize. But not enough, so we ran to the other side. Jack and I separated, allowing me to run closer to Barbossa as more crewmen joined in. I wrapped my arms around the railing, knowing I couldn't just be able to grab on with my hands and stay there.

One of Tai Huang's men started yelling and I turned my head to see him roll off the deck and into the water. But I didn't have enough time to focus on him, as we still had to rock the ship one more time.

This was it.

Elbows latched around the wood, I held tight. Hector looped one of his arms around mine. Another of Tai Huang's men fell, only he landed on the rigging. But then a cannon came hurdling down and crushed him. I grimaced and looked at Hector, who was staring at me.

"Now up…" Jack said, a few people away. I heard splashing as the other railing hit the water. "…is down."

I sucked in a huge gulp of air and awaited the descent into the water. I opened my eyes as soon as we were under. I saw Will, next to Elizabeth at my side, lose his grip on the railing and start sinking. Elizabeth let go with one hand and tried to reach out to him. I looked down and saw him grab onto a rope.

My long hair was splaying out wildly in the water, covering my face, but I didn't dare to let go and push it away with my hands. I tried to whip my head to one side, but it didn't work for too long. From what little I could see, Hector was smirking at me and I gave him a sheepish grin.

Just as I felt like my breath was running out, I looked down below and saw that we had apparently flipped over and were just below the surface right side up. We started rushing up and soon we had risen up into the air.

I flopped onto the deck, water splashing down onto me, and gasped for breath, coughing just like the rest of the crew. I reached out for Hector, but he had already gotten to his feet.

"Blessed sweet westerlies," Gibbs said, scrambling up. "We're back!"

I got up and stood between Jack and Will.

"It's the sunrise," Elizabeth said, staring into the horizon.

All of a sudden, Hector pulled out a gun, cocked it, and pointed it at Jack. Gibbs, Will, and Elizabeth pointed theirs at Hector, meanwhile Jack and I pointed ours at Will. Then we all had two guns out, pointed at each of their neighbors. Jack gave me a surprised look when he pointed one of his at me. I felt Will's eyes on me as well and he looked almost heartbroken.

"We need our pistols!" Pintel hollered, still hung upside down from the mast. "Get untied! 'Urry!"

Hector glanced at everyone in the circle and started chortling. That got us all laughing and we started to put our guns down, but I knew no one was giving up.

"All right, then!" Hector exclaimed when we all stopped and put our guns back up. "The Brethren Cove is a-gatherin' at Shipwreck Cove. And Jack, you and I are a-goin' and there'll be no _arguin'_ that point."

"I _is_ arguing the point," Jack retorted. "If there's pirates a-gathering, I'm pointing my ship the other way."

Elizabeth pointed both guns at Jack. "The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett and _you're_ a pirate." Jack pointed both of his at her. I wouldn't say I wasn't thankful he didn't have a gun on me anymore.

Will mirrored Elizabeth, pointing his guns across me at Jack. Gibbs loyally had both of his pointed to Will.

"Fight or not, you're not running, Jack," Will snarled. Jack targeted him now.

"If we don't stand together, they'll hunt us down one by one, till there's none left but you," I said to Jack.

"Quite like the sound of that," Jack grinned at me. "'Captain Jack Sparrow, the _last_ pirate'."

"Aye," Hector lurched forward, pointing his gun closer at Jack. Gibbs stepped ahead as well and Hector crossed one of his arms over his torso at the first mate. "Then you'll be fightin' Jones alone. How does that figure into your plan?"

"I'm still workin' on that. But I will not be goin' back to the Locker, mate," he raised his gun higher at Hector, and I did the same to Jack. "Count on that."

He pulled the trigger, but the gun only clicked, a spray of water coming out. I gasped and pointed both of my guns at Jack, testing both of them on him, having the same thing happen to me. This was a recurring theme with everyone else.

"Wet powder," Gibbs diagnosed.

We all put our guns down and I stepped over to Hector's side, tucking mine away.

"Wait!" Pintel shouted, finally free from the mast. "We can still use them as clubs!"

* * *

"There's a fresh water spring on this island," Will said, pointing at a spot on one of the charts as we gathered around him. "We can resupply there and get back to shooting each other later."

"_You_ lead the shore party. I'll stay wiv my ship," Jack smirked at Hector.

"I'll not be leaving _my_ ship in your command," Hector retorted.

"Why don't you _both_ go ashore and leave the ship in _my_ command?" Will suggested, almost too eagerly. Both of the captains stared at him. "…Temporarily."

Agreeing on that, we set sail for this island that wasn't too far away. I stood at the aft deck with Hector as he pulled out his spyglass. Then Jack came to my side holding up a rickety-looking one that was longer than Hector's. I shook my head and grinned, wondering where he'd found it.

Once we got closer to the island, several of us got into longboats. I seated myself beside Hector and felt Jack's eyes on the back of my head the whole time as he rowed.

Hector stepped onto the sand and held out his hand to me. "Milady," he kissed my knuckles and helped me get out. Behind us, I heard yelling and I turned to see Pintel and Ragetti falling out of their boat as they rode a wave.

"_Squaawk! _Mind the boat!" Cotton's parrot said.

Jack and Hector stood shoulder-to-shoulder and I looked to see what they were staring at down the beach. I raised my brow. Hector glanced at Jack and followed as the other captain started walking toward the kraken's carcass. I clasped onto Hector's hand and walked with them. Pintel and Ragetti were trailing behind.

Seagulls were pecking at the leviathan. Pintel ran ahead and grabbed a large stick, poking the kraken's tentacle with it to make sure it was dead.

"Careful! Careful!" Ragetti moaned.

"You. Stupid. Fish!" Pintel stabbed at it.

"Actually, it's a cephalopod," Ragetti pointed out as he climbed the creature.

"Serves you right!"

"Pin, I bet people would pay a shilling to see this. And another shilling for a sketch of them sitting at the top!"

Hector and I stood at Jack's shoulder as he stared into the brown, unseeing eye of the kraken. It reflected his melancholy face.

"Pintel and Raget'i—kraken slayers!" Pintel announced.

"We could serve up a slice as a souvenir."

"Still thinking of running, Jack?" I asked.

"Think you can outrun the world?" Hector added. He stepped around so we were facing the silent pirate. "You know, the problem with bein' the last of anythin', by and by, there be none left at all."

"Sometimes things come back, mate," Jack grinned a bit. "We're living proof, you and me."

"Aye, but that's a gamble of long odds, ain't it? There's never a guarantee of comin' back. But passin' on, that's dead certain," Hector said.

Jack bobbed his head a little. "Summoning the Brethren Court, then, is it?"

"It's our only hope, lad."

"…That's a sad commentary in and of itself."

"The world used to be a bigger place," Hector sighed.

"The world's still the same," Jack pointed out. "There's just…less in it."

* * *

We trekked through the island, some carrying supply containers. I stayed at Hector's side, wanting nothing more than to pull him aside for a moment and kiss him. Alas, we found the spring, only there was more than just water and fish inside it.

A pale corpse lay face down, dressed like one of Tai Huang's men.

Hector leaned over and splashed a finger in the water. He sucked on the appendage and immediately spit onto the ground. "Poisoned. Fouled by the body."

Pintel got in and lifted up the poor soul's body. He had a fid in his mouth, the pointy end of it sticking out of his head.

"'Ey, I know 'im," Pintel said solemnly. "He was in Singapore."

"_Squawk!_ Singapore," Cotton's parrot said from up above.

"Captain!" Marty pointed out to the beach.

"Hoy!"

I leaned over to see Ragetti waving his hands. Then he gestured wildly towards the _Black Pearl_ and the junk coming towards it.

"We got company!"

A word was said in a language I didn't understand, and it was followed by the sounds of guns cocking. Hector pulled me into his chest protectively and I grasped his lapels. Tai Huang and his men were pointing their weapons at Pintel, Jack, Hector, and me.

Several of them were circled around Jack. He hesitated and then pointed at Hector. "_He's_ the captain."

Hector rolled his eyes.


	21. The Losing Side

** I climbed aboard** the _Pearl_ and was met with the loud cries of Asian pirates. Several guns were pointed at me in case I thought of doing something "stupid". Hector stepped up beside me and addressed the pirate lord who had led the junk ship to us. He had a sinister grin on his face and it made my blood run cold.

"Sao Feng," Hector said with a fake smile, "you showin' up here, 'tis _truly_ a remarkable coincidence."

I heard shuffling and looked to see Jack cowering behind us, one of the knuckles of his index finger in his mouth.

Sao Feng ignored Hector and took a step around us. "Jack Sparrow…"

The captain in question stood up and forced a smile.

"You paid me great insult once," Sao Feng said with a fierce look on his face.

"That doesn't sound like me," Jack lied.

Then Sao Feng punched him hard in the nose. There was a collective moan. I winced and Hector put his arm around me so that his hand was resting on my elbow.

Jack groaned and cracked his nose back. "Shall we just call it square, then?"

Will pushed himself out of the crowd he was in. I wondered why Sao's crew wasn't restraining him. He couldn't possibly be involved…

"Release her," he pointed at Elizabeth. "She's not part of the bargain."

"Will," I gasped, feeling my heart break a little.

"And what _bargain_ be that?" Hector asked furiously.

"You heard Captain Turner," Sao Feng announced. Some of his crew chortled. "Release her."

"'Captain Turner'?" Jack repeated incredulously, as if this were his worst fear.

I glared at Will. How dare he?

"Aye, the perfidious _rotter_ led a mutiny against us," Gibbs explained, standing behind Elizabeth and Tia Dalma, surrounded by Sao Feng's men.

"I need the _Pearl_ to free my father," Will declared. He looked at me, as though expecting me to understand because I was there with him on the _Dutchman_. "That's the only reason I came on this voyage."

Elizabeth scrutinized him. Once she was finally released from the irons she had been clapped in, she strode up to him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?" she asked.

"It was my burden to bear," he told her.

The look she gave him implied to me that she had said that to him about something else—probably the reason why she chained Jack to the ship and left him to die.

"_He_ needs the _Pearl_," Jack pointed at Will. "_Captain Turner_ needs the _Pearl_. And _you_ felt guilty," he looked at Elizabeth. "And _you_ went along because where else would you go?" he said to me. Those words stung. "And _you_ and your Brethren Court," Jack looked at Hector. "Did no one come to save me _just_ because they missed me?"

Marty thrust his hand up into the sky. Pintel and Ragetti raised theirs slowly. Even Jack the Monkey held up his arm, chirping a little. Jack pointed to them.

"I'm standing over there wiv them," he darted over to the three men, but Sao Feng reached out and grabbed him right where his neck meets his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jack," he said. "But there is an old friend who wants to see you first."

"I'm not certain I can survive any more visits from old friends," Jack grunted.

Sao aggressively walked him over to the other railing, Hector and I trailing behind until we were stopped by several guns. "Here is your chance to find out."

There in the distance was a brig with white sails.

* * *

Jack had been taken aboard the _Endeavour_ to speak with Cutler Beckett. The soldiers aimed their guns at us from the other ship, which was on our opposite side, while some of them patrolled the deck of the _Black Pearl_. Hector kept his arm tight around me.

A young-looking soldier walked by and glanced at me. Then did a double-take and stopped to stare.

"You were supposed to hang with Sparrow all those years ago, were you not?" he asked.

"Aye," I nodded. Hector furrowed his brow at me.

"I was there, watching. The Turner fellow came to save you," the soldier continued.

"Aye."

"Hmm. It appears as though _those_ days are over," he smirked.

I nodded, my heart pounding. "_Aye_."

The soldier passed us by and I looked at Hector. I was about to explain when Sao Feng approached one of Beckett's associates—one with a scar on his face and a green coat below his tricorn hat. He had been there at Singapore.

"My men are crew enough," Sao Feng told him.

"Company ship, company crew," the scarred man said with a Scottish accent.

Will and Elizabeth walked over to Sao Feng, surrounded by two of his men. They all blocked our view.

"You agreed. The _Black Pearl_ was to be mine," Will reminded him.

"And so it was," Sao Feng said to him.

There was a pause, then Tai Huang punched Will in the gut, making him keel over so they could lead him away without a fuss. He and Elizabeth were chained up. I hoped he was happy with his decision to betray us.

Sao Feng grabbed the scarred man, who I believe was named Mercer, as he walked across the deck.

"Beckett agreed…the _Black Pearl_…was to be _mine_," he said.

"Well, Beckett's not gonna give up the only ship as can outrun the _Dutchman_, is 'e?" Mercer said, casting Sao Feng's hand on his shoulder a dirty look.

Sao Feng let go and watched as Mercer strode off.

"Shame they're not bound to honor the Code of the Brethren, isn't it?" Hector released me and stepped up to the other captain.

I noticed Gibbs beside me and leaned against his arm. We hadn't spoken much since our talk of loyalty and I missed him greatly.

"Because honor's a hard thing to come by nowadays," Hector continued, his tone a bit angrier.

"There is no honor to remaining with the losing side," Sao scowled at him. "Leaving it for the winning side, that's just good business."

"The _losin'_ side, yeh say?"

"_They_ have the _Dutchman_—now the _Pearl_! And what do the Brethren have?"

"We have…" Hector paused, "Calypso."

Sao Feng narrowed his eyes and looked at Elizabeth. She stared back in surprise that he thought it was her. I didn't know for sure, but I really had a feeling it was Tia Dalma…

"Hmm," Sao Feng chuckled. "_Calypso_."

Hector glanced back at Elizabeth, like Sao Feng was stupid for thinking it was her—which he was.

"An old legend," Sao smirked.

"No. The goddess herself, bound in human form. Imagine, all the power of the seas brought to bear against our enemy. I intend to release her. But for that, I need the Brethren Court," Hector told him. He grabbed the monkey fist necklace hanging from Sao Feng's throat. "_All_ the Court."

Sao Feng turned away, holding his red cloth. "What are you proposing, Captain?"

"What be acceptin'…_Cap'n_?"

"The girl," Sao Feng stared at Elizabeth.

"What?" she chirped.

"Elizabeth is not part of _any _bargain," Will retorted.

Hector shook his head. "Out of the question."

"It was _not_ a question," Sao Feng corrected.

"Done," Elizabeth said calmly.

"What?" Will looked at her incredulously. "Not done."

"You got us into this mess. If this is what frees us, then _done_!"

"Elizabeth, they are _pirates_," Will said to her, standing between her and Sao Feng.

"I have had more than enough experience dealing with _pirates_," she shoved his chest on the last word.

"Then we have an accord?" Hector looked at her to make sure she was okay with her decision.

Needless to say she was. With Sao Feng, Elizabeth, and his men back aboard the _Empress_, Hector quietly ordered our crew to ready the cannons. I stayed by his side when the first blast went off, rocking the _Endeavour_.

There was gunfire from the other ship, but I just had to hope I didn't get shot as I fought with the soldier who recognized me.

Hector started chortling and I saw him engaged in his own swordfight with Mercer near me at the bow. I didn't pay much attention, but I think I saw Hector kick him in the stomach. They banged their swords against each other once more before Mercer leapt off the railing and into the water.

"Man overboard!" someone shouted.

Hector was about to aid me in my own fight, but then I was able to disarm the soldier. I held the tip of my blade at his throat and he raised his shaky hands. I cocked my head at the railing where Mercer had jumped off and he took the hint gladly.

"An' what be the purpose o' that?" Hector asked after the splash.

"The hope of reciprocity," I explained.

Before we could go down to the main deck, there was a cannon blast from the _Endeavour_. And out of the smoke, Jack came flying over, screaming as he soared through the air.

Leaning over the railing to see a rope come swinging by, Hector, the crew, and I ran over to the aft deck. They tried to catch the rope, but I knew he hadn't been attached to that. I grinned up and saw him casually leaning against a lamp on the sculpture up above.

"And _that_ was wivout even a single drop of rum," he said.

Hector shoved his sword back into his baldric and walked off looking annoyed. I thought about going after him, but then I wondered what Jack would do to Will, who was standing at my side.

Pintel and Ragetti grabbed his shoulders as Jack came down onto the aft deck and stepped up to Will.

"Send this pestilent, traitorous, cowardly, yeasty codpiece to the brig," he ordered.

I followed Pintel and Ragetti as they led the young man. He stopped walking to turn around and look at me, expecting sympathy.

"What were you thinking?" I asked him.

"You heard me promise my father," he said. "I must do what I have to in order to free him."

"There could have been other ways," I shook my head.

Will reached out to grab my shoulder, but Pintel grabbed his arm again and tugged him off to the stairs that led to the brig.

I sighed and found Hector standing at the railing. I came up beside him and covered his hand with my own. He turned and looked at me. I didn't meet his gaze, but I used my peripheries. He still appeared annoyed, but his face was slowly smoothing out.

"After you were…_shot_," I began, "Jack and I were taken back to Port Royal to hang. The lever had just been pulled when Will threw a sword under each of our feet. We freed ourselves and Norrington let us go, not chasing us until days later."

Hector nodded and looked back out at the water.

"I considered him not only an ally, but a friend," I continued. "It breaks my heart to know that this is how everything has culminated."

"Loyalty seems a hard thing to come by these days," Hector said. "But I can safely assume that I have yours, hmm?"

I stared into his eyes and picked his hand up, sliding myself between him and the railing. I stroked the scar on his face and stood on my toes to kiss him. He cupped my cheek and returned the kiss with such passion.

"Aye," I gasped out, touching his chest. "That you do."


	22. Not Among Us

** We immediately started **heading for Shipwreck Cove. Instead of making me do the same labor as the men, Hector gave me permission to stay with him.

"So as I can keep sane," he explained, playing with a strand of my hair.

I didn't mind, of course. But I received several envious looks—mostly from Pintel. And as Hector and I patrolled the main deck that sunny afternoon, I overheard the pirate saying something as he refilled a cannon with powder.

"Bloody unfair the _strumpet_ gets to skive off 'er duties," he muttered. "We can't _all_ bed _Barbossa_."

It felt like the bottom of my stomach fell out. I hadn't even bedded him yet. Gulping, I looked to see if Hector had heard him too, but he was more focused on the sails up above. I didn't tell him, though. I knew he would shoot Pintel and I didn't want that to happen. I understood his frustration, but it didn't make me feel any better about what he said.

"We're already low on crewmen anyway," Pintel continued, "what wiv Turner bein' in the brig an' that obeah woman not doing bloody anything but spook us all 'alf to death. But no, I see Barbossa's got 'is lit'le pet doing all but nothing. It's a waste, I tell yeh."

"_Squaaawk!_ Dead men tell no tales," Cotton's parrot warned, flying over and landing on the railing.

I glanced over and saw Pintel glaring at the bird, then at me. But to his credit, he didn't speak a word that I could hear after that.

Hector tugged his arm that my hand was resting on and I faced forward. He scrutinized me a moment and looked at Pintel with contempt.

"Did that idiot say somethin' about yeh?" he asked.

"He says a lot of things about a lot of people," I pointed out and continued walking.

* * *

"So, Hector," I rubbed a green apple on a relatively clean part of my shirt, "what is the sleeping situation regarding you, Jack, and the captain's quarters?"

Through the darkness of the night, he eyed the apple I placed into my mouth and his lips twitched into a crooked smile. He was leaning his back against the railing while I sat on my favorite barrel, biting into the fruit.

"There be only one bed. We've been rotatin' who gets it and who sleeps at their side of the desk," he explained, taking the apple from me and biting into it as well.

"Well, seeing as I have me own cabin…" I trailed off, grabbing the apple.

"Yeh'll be lettin' me have it, _seeing as_ it used to be _mine_ when I was Jack's first mate?" he asked good-humoredly.

"Hmm," I grinned, tapping the spot below my lip. "I was more thinking I'd allow you to share it with me, as we're sharing this apple."

"_Now_, there's a plan," he flared his eyelids, reaching down to touch my knee.

I beamed up at him, grasping onto the hand on my leg. I interlocked our fingers and squeezed. Would tonight be the night we made Pintel's grumbling words true? My cheeks felt hot just thinking about it.

"I'll make ye a solemn vow that I'll be as gentlemanly as I can this night," he bowed his head and stared right into my green eyes.

I sighed and nodded. Apparently not.

"But what say you we retire early and make tomorrow night come as fast as we can, hmm?"

My cheeks started burning again, but I couldn't help how excited I was. It had been a very long time and…there was no one I'd rather blow off steam with than Hector Barbossa.

I hopped off my barrel and led Hector behind me as we headed for my cabin. Little did we know, Will had broken out of the brig and begun the process of tying the military corpses onto barrels to lead Beckett to us.

Hector let go of my hand and opened the door for me. I stepped in, thanking him, and sat on my bed to take off my boots. I was thankful that I had kept to my limited hygienic regimens, washing myself as often as I could, removing any unwanted body hairs, chewing on mint regularly to keep my breath smelling nice.

He closed the door and took off his frock coat leaving it on the chair at my desk. He placed his hat on the tabletop and I stared up at him, never seeing him this bare. His scalp was wrapped in a faded green bandana. I could tell that he was slimmer than he looked.

"Somethin' amusin'?" he smirked, sitting beside me to put his boots by mine. The bottoms of his legs and feet were shockingly white.

"I've just never seen you like this," I said, tucking my legs underneath myself and getting up on my knees to grab his face and kiss him.

He pulled me onto his lap and I wrapped both my arms and legs around his body. He ran a hand through my hair and all but dug his fingertips into the back of my scalp. But then he pulled back for air.

"This be as far as we venture, Keegan," he reminded me, pressing his forehead into mine.

"I know," I whispered, closing my eyes as he took his hand out of my hair and just cradled me close to him.

* * *

"Look alive! And keep a weather eye!" Gibbs ordered as most of our crew stood at the railing. "Not for naught it's called _Shipwreck _Island. Where lies _Shipwreck_ Cove and the town of _Shipwreck_."

"You heard 'im! Step lively," Pintel shouted.

I stood at the bow with Hector. But when Tia sauntered over, looking like she needed to speak with him, I went over to the bowsprit and tried to gather enough courage to sit upon it. At least the _Flying Dutchman_'s had a mouth to sit inside.

"I do not renege on a bargain once struck," Hector said.

I felt bad for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help myself.

"But we agreed on _ends_ only. The _means_ are _mine _to decide," he continued.

I heard a soft _thwack_ and turned my head enough to see that Tia Dalma angrily had his wrist clenched in her grasp.

"Caution, Barbossa," she said slowly. But then her words got louder. "Do not forget it was by _my _powah you return from the dead. Or what it mean if you fail me."

Hector looked worried as his hand started to decay in front of his very eyes. I felt pressure on my chest and I hoped she wouldn't take his life away. Not when I was starting to fall in love with someone who might love me back.

She let go and his hand returned to normal. She started to storm off, but he turned quickly and grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him.

"Don't you ferget why yeh had to bring _me_ back. Why I could not leave Jack to his well-deserved fate. It took nine pirate lords to bind you, _Calypso_," he said heatedly.

I whipped my head to her furious countenance and thought to myself that I had guessed correctly she was the goddess.

"And it'll take no _less_ than nine to set yeh free. Masters Pintel and Ragetti," he turned to the two pirates fussing with lines that had been behind me unbeknownst to myself. They stood at attention, forever loyal to their captain. "Take this _fishwife_ to the brig," he ordered.

"Right this way, Mrs. Fish," Pintel said after grabbing one of her arms.

Tia Dalma stared incredulously at Hector and thrust her appendage out of his grasp. Then she silently made her way down the stairs.

Hector came to my side and covered my hand with the very one that had been decaying. "I want to feel somethin' alive," he muttered.

"You're alive yourself," I reminded him. "And I'm very thankful for that fact." I turned my hand so it was palm up and lifted his to my mouth. I kissed the gnarled skin below his knuckles and then put his hand over his heart so he could feel it beat.

"As am I." He reached out and touched my face before placing a kiss directly on my forehead.

* * *

The town of Shipwreck was constructed almost entirely out of destroyed vessels, hence the name. We had managed to safely maneuver our way into the cove. The sky was dark and the town was glowing with lanterns. Most of our men held flaming torches in their hands.

"Look at them all," I commented, referring to the several ships docked already.

"There's not been a gatherin' like this in our lifetime," Hector said proudly.

Jack came up beside him. "And I owe them all money."

Soon enough, we tied up the _Pearl_ and made our way to the room where the Court had convened. It seemed like everyone was there, and then some. Except for Sao Feng.

I kept looking back to the globe with a few swords sticking out of it, wondering when he'd come. Jack stood over there, clearly trying to avoid everyone else. The lords and their crews were mingling, but then I heard a dull banging noise.

I faced forward and saw Hector hitting the tabletop with a cannonball. I stood at his elbow and watched the other pirates quiet down and pay him attention.

"As he who issued summons, I convene this the _Fourth_ Brethren Court," he announced.

The pirates started talking again and the lords sat down in their chairs, while Hector stayed where he was at the end of the table. He gestured with his hand and behind me, Ragetti scuttled off.

"To confirm your lordship and _right_ to be heard, present now yer pieces of eight, my fellow cap'ns," he continued.

Ragetti went to each lord with a bowl in his hands. Sri Sumbhajee of the Indian Ocean gave him a calf-horn snuff box.

Capitaine Chevalle of the Mediterranean Sea pulled out a playing card from his sleeve. I started feeling heavy pressure on my chest at the sight of the man who killed my parents. Gibbs stepped forward and put his arm around my shoulders for a moment.

"Those aren't pieces of eight," Pintel pointed out. "They're just pieces o' junk."

Captain Villanueva of the Adiratic Sea gave Ragetti a broken bottleneck with a cork that was tied on a string.

"Aye. The original plan was to use nine pieces of eight to bind Calypso," Gibbs told him as Gentleman Jocard of the Atlantic Ocean put a pair of tobacco cutters into the bowl. "But when the First Court met, the Brethren were to a one skint broke."

Pintel gave Gibbs an incredulous, almost disgusted, look. "So change the name."

Mistress Ching, the blind Pirate Lord of the Pacific Ocean, put a pair of spectacles in with the other items.

"What? To 'nine pieces of whatever we happened to have in our pockets at the time'? Oh, yes that sounds _very_ piratey."

Ammand the corsair of the Black Sea blew on a small pewter brandy goblet before laying it in the bowl.

"Master Ragetti, if you will," Hector said, now that his man had come back to him. The captain held his hand out expectantly.

"I-I kept it safe for you, just like you said when you gave it to me," Ragetti stammered.

"Aye, yeh have. But now I need it back," Hector Barbossa of the Caspian Sea told him, smacking the back of his head so the wooden eye popped out and into his hand before dropping in the bowl.

"Sparrow!" Villanueva barked.

There was a low hum of the pirates mumbling and we all turned to the globe, where he still was. The Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea reached up to touch the Siamese coin woven into Moroccan beads that dangled over his bandana.

"Might I point out that we are still short one pirate lord and I'm as content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng joins us," Jack strolled up to Hector's other side.

"Sao Feng is dead."

We all whipped our heads around once more. There stood Elizabeth, dressed head-to-toe in Chinese garb. Tai Huang and his men stood behind her.

Almost all of the pirates inside raised a clamor.

"He fell to the _Flying Dutchman_," she added.

"The plagued ship!" Ching stood up.

Elizabeth shoved her sword into the globe.

"He made _you_ captain?" Jack asked as she stepped around me to stand at the table. "They're just _giving_ the bloody title away now.

"_¡Qué lo manden al diablo!_" Villanueva roared, pointing to the young woman.

"Listen! Listen to me!" she said loudly. The pirates quieted down some. "Our location has been betrayed. Jones is under the command of Lord Beckett. They're on their way here."

"Who _is_ this betrayer?" Jocard demanded.

"Not likely anyone among us," Hector said.

"Where's Will?" Elizabeth asked me.

"Not among us," I told her.

"And it matters not _how_ they found us. The question is: What will we do now that they _have_?" Hector said.

"We fight," Elizabeth suggested.

The pirates started to laugh. I saw Hector giving her a look, almost as though he were embarrassed by what she had just said.

"Shipwreck Cove is a _fortress_," Ching stated. "A _well-supplied_ fortress. There is no need to fight if they cannot get to us."

There was a rumble of agreement.

"There be a _third_ course," Hector interjected. He began to walk around the table. "In another age, at this very spot, the First Brethren Court captured the sea goddess and bound her in her bones."

Another rumble of agreement. I found myself crossing my fingers for good luck, so Hector's case would be heard and dealt with properly.

"That was a mistake," he added. Every eye was locked on him. "Oh, we tamed the seas for ourselves, aye. But opened the door to Beckett and his ilk! Better were the days when mastery of seas came not from bargains struck with eldritch creatures, but from the sweat of a man's brow and the strength of his back alone. Yeh all know this to be true."

Rumble-rumble.

"Gentlemen," Hector came back to where he stood, standing next to Elizabeth to say one more word before he returned to his spot, "_Ladies_." He took a pause. "We must free Calypso."

There was a long silence. I started feeling my mouth go dry. Hector looked confused.

Then an angry clamor came out of nowhere.

"Shoot him!" Ammand pointed two fingers at the captain.

"Cut out his tongue!" Jocard shouted.

"Shoot him _and_ cut out his tongue, then shoot his tongue! And trim that scraggily beard," Jack said to the man beside him.

"Sao Feng would've agreed with Barbossa," Tai Huang stepped forward.

"Aye," Hector said.

"Calypso was our enemy then, she will be our enemy now," Jocard waved his staff.

"It's unlikely her mood's improved," Chevalle spoke up.

"I would still agree with Sao Feng," Villanueva pulled out his gun and placed it on the table. "We release Calypso!"

Chevalle stepped around the other end of the table. He towered over the short Spaniard. "You treaten me?"

"I silence you!"

Chevalle punched him right in the face, causing Villanueva to fall backward and shoot at the ceiling, thus inciting a brawl between crews. Someone was even slid across the table.

"This is madness," Elizabeth said under her breath.

"This is politics," Jack replied.

"Meanwhile, our enemies are bearing down upon us," she continued.

"If they not be here already," Hector pointed out.

Once the fracas had gone on long enough, he climbed up onto the table, raised his pistol, and shot into the ceiling, his cannonballs dangling almost inappropriately between his legs.

"It was the First Court what imprisoned Calypso," he said once everyone stopped and stared at him. "We should be the ones to set 'er free. And in her gra'itude, she will see fit to grant us _boons_."

Jack leaned forward to get a good look at the cannonballs. "Whose boons? Your boons?" He stood up and stepped over. "Utterly deceptive twaddle-speak, says I."

"If yeh have a bet'er alternative, please, _share_," Hector came back down to the floor.

"Cuttlefish," Jack said. Everyone gave him a look. "Eh?" He gestured for one of Ammand's men to get out of his way so that he could meander around the table.

"Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends, the cuttlefish. Flipping, glorious little sausages," he muttered the last sentence to one of Ching's men. "Pen 'em up together and they will devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, innit? Or…or fish nature. So, yes," he grabbed onto Ching's shoulders, "we could hole up here, well-provisioned and well-armed, and half of us would be dead within the month." He let go of her. "Which seems quite grim to me, any way you slice it.

"_Or_…uh…" he was stopped by a rather intimidating member of Jocard's crew. "A-as my learned…colleague," he gestured to Hector as he tried to slip between the crewmember and the back of Jocard's chair, "so naively suggests, we can release Calypso. And we can pray that she will be merciful." He crouched down to a rather short man of Villanueva's. "I rather doubt it." He stood and continued on his way.

"Can we, in fact, pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned like which fury hell hath no? We cannot._ Res ipsa loquitur, tabula in naufragio_. We are left with but one option. I agree with, and I cannot believe the words are coming out of me mouth…mm, Captain Swann. We must fight."

"You've always run away from a fight," Hector retorted.

"Have not."

"Yeh have so."

"Have not!"

"Yeh have so!"

"Have _not_!"

"Yeh have so and yeh know it."

"Have not. Slander and calumny. I have only ever embraced that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions. I submit that here now that is what we all must do: We must fight…to run away," Jack jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Aye!" Gibbs pumped a fist.

"Aye!" several other pirates shouted.

I felt the bottom of my stomach falling out. Hector's plan had better end up working. I looked at him and saw that his arms were crossed. His brilliant mind was searching for a loophole, as always.

"As per the Code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the Pirate King," he said.

"You made that up," Jack accused.

"Did I, now? I call on Cap'n Teague, _Keeper_ of the Code," Hector said loudly.

Jack's face fell.

"Sri Sumbhajee proclaims this all to be _folly_!" one of the pirate lord's men said, punching the table with the last word. "_Eh_!_ Hang_ the Code! Who cares a—?"

There was a loud gunshot and the man fell backwards. Up behind Jack, on a balcony, Captain Teague blew the smoke off the barrel of his gun. He was a wrinkled man, who looked just like his son.

"Code is the law," he growled in a voice almost too low to hear.

The pirate lords on the long sides of the table sat down slowly. Jack's mouth twitched nervously.

Teague ambled down to where we were. He came up behind my old companion. "You're in my way, boy."

Jack sidestepped away awkwardly. His father gestured to his right, and two old geezers shuffled in, helping each other carry a large book.

The room was filled with hushed mumblings about the Code. Even Pintel and Ragetti got in on it.

"The Code," Pintel muttered.

"As set forth by Morgan and Bartholomew," Ragetti added.

The old men slid the Pirata Codex onto the table that was covered in broken glass from the earlier scuffle. They stepped away and Teague whistled, gesturing with his arm again. A familiar-looking dog came scampering out with a ring of keys in its mouth.

"That can't… How did…?" I furrowed my brow, remembering the dog being chased by the Pelegostos.

"Sea turtles, mate," Teague shrugged, staring right at me. He smirked and winked an eye before unlocking the book, the dog barking as it ran off.

Hector glanced back at me and I shrugged as well.

"Sea turtles," Pintel repeated with a grin.

Teague opened the book and muttered to himself as he dragged his fingers down the yellowed pages. Jack looked over his shoulder.

"Ah," Teague said finally. "Barbossa is right."

Hector bowed and I snickered.

"Hang on a minute," Jack looked at the book now, his father backing up. He read quietly to himself. "Fancy _that_."

"There has not been a King since the First Court. And that's not likely to change," Chevalle pointed out.

"Not likely," Teague repeated, turned to go sit on his throne further back in the room.

"Why not?" Elizabeth turned to me.

"The Pirate King is elected by popular vote. And each pirate only ever votes for hisself," I explained.

"I call for a vote," Jack declared.

Hector sighed angrily. Teague, meanwhile, had picked up a guitar and began playing it. He caught my eye and beckoned me over as the pirates muttered.

"Me?" I whispered, pointing to myself in surprise. What could Teague want with me?

He nodded his head, still playing a song. Gibbs exchanged glances with me and I started to walk over.

"I vote for Ammand the corsair."

"'Scuse me," I muttered, squeezing myself through our crew.

"Capitaine Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman."

I felt my insides turn icy when he said that. I feel eyes on the back of my head and I turned briefly to see Hector scrutinizing me. I smiled at him to tell him not to worry.

"Sri Sumbhajee votes for Sri Sumbhajee."

I passed the Indian man's new speaker, stepping over his predecessor, and then went through the French crowd. It took a lot of restraint not to approach the captain, but I made it past him.

"Mistress Ching."

"Gentleman Jocard."

"Elizabeth Swann."

"Barbossa."

"Villanueva!"

"Elizabeth Swann," _Jack_ uttered.

"_What_?" Elizabeth chirped.

"I know. Curious, isn't it?" Jack replied.

I finally found myself before Captain Teague. He was surrounded by candles, instruments, and other items. He glanced at me and smiled.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the likes of you, Keegan Lynch," he said, the pirate lords hollering angrily behind me.

"You know me?" I whispered.

"Met you when you were just born."

"_Am I to understand that you lot will not be keeping to the Code, then?_" Jack inquired passive-aggressively, just as I was about to ask more questions.

Teague broke a string on his guitar and the lords took that as a sign to sit down again.

"Very well," Ching said, the only one on the side of the table that decided to stand. "What say you, Captain Swann, _King_ of the Brethren Court?"

"Prepare every vessel that floats," Elizabeth proclaimed. "At dawn…we're at war."

Sri Sumbhajee stood up. "And so," he said in an alarmingly high-pitched voice, "we shall go to war."

There was a lot of shouting, mostly in agreement. Jack turned and looked at his father.

"What?" he came over. "You've seen it all, done it all. You survived. That's the trick, innit? To survive?"

"It's not just about living forever, Jackie," Teague told him. He handed the guitar to me and stood up. "The trick is: Living wiv yerself forever."

Jack nodded solemnly. "How's Mum?"

Teague pulled out a shrunken head and held it up for Jack to see.

"…She looks great."

Teague turned back to me and put the head away. "Come. Let's 'ave a talk."

I gaped and looked back at Hector, who was clearly waiting for me at the back of the room. He seemed confused. I held up a finger to indicate that I'd only be a moment. He bowed his head and took a seat in the large chair that had been behind him the whole time.

Teague grabbed my elbow and led me up a set of stairs.

* * *

So, I think next chapter's gonna have half a lemon in it. I dunno. We'll see how much I feel comfortable writing. Probably not enough to warrant an M warning, but we'll see.


	23. Beauty Marks

** "Take a seat,** darling," Teague offered, grabbing his guitar from my hands. He had led me into a room that had once been used as a captain's quarters.

I slid into a chair at the round table in the middle of the room. Teague had acquired some objects and set about repairing the string he broke. He sat across the table from me and stayed in his world for quite some time. I twiddled my thumbs and waited for him to speak first.

"I'd wager you're wondering why I brought you here," he finally said.

"You'd be correct, sir," I nodded.

"I thought it'd be best to let you know the circumstances of why we met so long ago."

I smiled. "I'd love to hear it."

"That all depends," Teague glanced up from his guitar. "You've no idea what I'm about to say."

I gulped and readied myself for the news.

"As I'm sure my Jackie has told you, your mother used to court Barbossa," he glanced up again to see my reaction.

"Then she left him for my father. Yes, I know," I interrupted.

"Well, as you can imagine, it left ol' Hector nothing but heartbroken. Poor soul really loved her."

I gulped again and watched as he tuned the new string.

"When you were born, your parents came here. Your mother had written him a letter and told him to meet her over at the Drunken Lady—a lovely establishment, by the way. Excellent rum. I'd suggest having a taste after this war if you happen to live," Teague rambled.

"Thank you for the suggestion," I said slowly.

"While Ash sat wiv her former lover, Liam brought you to come visit me. We sat and talked about their predicament with Chevalle, who I'm sure you know—"

"Is responsible for their death. Yes, I _know_."

Teague raised his eyebrows at me and my slight annoyance. "You know your own stories well, Keegan."

"Your son's responsible for most of that," I told him.

"Ah, good ol' Jackie. Then you probably already know what Barbossa and Ash talked about, so I'll spare you that—"

"Wait," I interjected. "No. I haven't heard that one yet."

He grinned from above his guitar and started playing a drawn-out arrangement of "Hoist the Colours" on the instrument. "You haven't?"

"No," I shook my head.

"Well, Ash was never quite relieved of the guilt she felt for what she did to Barbossa. So, she thought it might clear her conscience a bit if she proposed a betrothal to him. A betrothal…betwixt him…and the wee babe sittin' wiv her father right where you are now," Teague said slowly.

My eyebrows shot up. "We were…_betrothed_?"

"Not exactly."

I turned my head and saw Hector standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He cast an irritated glance at Teague and then locked his eyes on me. He softened a bit and continued.

"'Tis true Aislinn gave me that option. But I neglected to give her an answer," Hector told me.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Yes, what _did_ you do?" Teague repeated. "I never heard how this turned out."

"I believe I responded by wishin' a pox on yer family an' leavin' the tavern, never to see her again," Hector explained. "Never did I think we'd meet."

"When were you planning on telling me?" I stood. Behind me, Teague ceased playing the guitar.

"At the _opportune_ moment," Hector bowed his head and grabbed onto my hands. "I didn't think anyone else would be alive to tell yeh, but I suppose I was wrong." He cast Teague another angry glance. "An' I didn't want ye to think ye had to marry me. Arranged marriages are rarely blissful ones."

I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"This wasn't the way I was intendin' on ye findin' out," he said softly.

"Marriage or not, I'm happy with you," I said, standing up on my toes to kiss him.

"So," Teague said, causing us both to look at him, "you two are already in love?"

I nodded. The Keeper of the Code looked miffed.

"Jack came to visit me several years ago and told stories of the lovely girl he'd met in Tortuga. I always thought you'd suit him well," he said.

"Too flighty for my tastes," I shook my head. I never knew he'd mentioned me to his father.

"Just like his father was," Teague grinned to himself. "'Til he found the right woman." He pulled out the shrunken head and sighed. "I hoped you'd be _his_ right woman."

"Sorry to disappoint," I bobbed my head.

"I suppose I should let the two of you rest up. Tonight could be your last to fall asleep and awaken the next morning," Teague stood up. "Luck be with the both of you."

"Good night, Captain Teague," I said.

Hector bowed his head once more and led me out of the room. With his hand on the small of my back, we walked onto the dock and I almost ran into the last person I wanted to see.

"_Excusez-moi_," Chevalle muttered, then he did a double-take. His red eyes lit up when he saw my face. "You _deed_ escape."

I gulped and stared at the Frenchman. He reached forward and grabbed my chin roughly. I could feel my heart pounding. Hector's hand made his way up to my shoulder and he clasped onto it tightly.

"Ah, Barbossa," Chevalle smirked, accentuated by the scar that curved up from the left corner of his lips. "Are you going to heet me again?"

Some of his men, all with similar wigs and facial hair, filed in behind him, guns at the ready.

"Not tonight, Marcel," Hector said in his most poisonously pleasing voice. "Best not be fightin' before need be."

Chevalle let go of my chin and gestured to his men. He muttered a word in French and stepped around us to go back inside.

"Ye alright?" Hector asked me once the last crewman had gone inside.

I nodded and started walking toward the _Pearl_. He followed me as I went to the railing. He stood beside me and looked out at the stars.

"Yeh've had quite the day, Miss Lynch," Hector sighed.

I looked up at him and took his hand. Guiding it around my body and placing it against my hip, I pressed myself against his torso.

"I'm glad to've spent it with you, Captain Barbossa."

Hector leaned down and placed a kiss atop my head. He pulled me closer to him and stroked my hair.

"I seem to remember you telling me that last night would be the only in which you would behave like a gentleman," I muttered.

"That's a mite forward for a lady to say, hmm?" Hector smirked.

"Pirate."

He released me from his grasp. "And yeh're sure this be the course ye desire to take?"

"Hector, we may die tomorrow. Tonight could be our last together," I reached up and cupped the side of his face.

His smirk grew wider. "Yeh'd have to brand me a lyin' man if I were to say I wasn't thinkin' the same. I only wished to hear you say it first."

I grinned and took his hand once more. I led him to my cabin and closed the door after him. I kicked off my boots and detached my weapons, and waited for him to remove his boots, coat, baldric, and hat. I dipped a finger into his sash, tugging him forward.

"I recall you saying once that the Lynch women were rather apt at untying knots," I said as I set to work.

"'Tis true," Hector stroked my face as I loosened the sash and let it fall around his ankles.

I pulled his poet shirt off and put my hands on his chest. There was another scar, right over his left set of ribs. I slid my hands down, but he grabbed them before I reached his breeches. He backed up and sat on the edge of my bed. He put his hands on my waist and made me stand between his knees. He reached around and started undoing my corset, then my own sash. He dragged my shirt up my body slowly and I pulled the rest of it off.

Hector pulled me into his lap and kissed my lips. As I kissed him back, I took the green bandana off his head. He then began to focus his mouth on my neck. Knowing Jack was in the room next, I had to try not to express my pleasure aloud.

He suddenly scooped me into his arms and laid me on my back. "I must warn ye, Keegan. There be a long time between now and the last time I did this."

"If it makes you feel any better," I blushed, "it's the same for me."

* * *

_ Hector lay against the wall and watched as Keegan slept, her back to him. The moonlight pouring into the window outlined her body, and he was glad to say that it didn't make him a skeletal monster._

_ He noticed a small raised scar on her right hip and extended his arm to feel it gently. He wondered what its origins were, who had cut her, why. She stirred and he retracted. She rolled onto her stomach and he pushed her long hair out of the way to see the long wound that started at her other hip and ended at her right shoulder. The scar had stretched out over the years and was dark in color. She would always have that on her back._

_ "I can't bloody sleep."_

_ Keegan turned again and faced Hector. Her bleary-eyed face had a smile on it. She reached out and touched his ribs, right where Chevalle had cut him after Hector had attacked him when he heard the news all those years ago._

_ "I like your beauty marks," she mumbled._

_ "Thank ye," Hector grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Yer collection's growin' quite a bit."_

_ "Can I tell you a secret?" Keegan inched closer and placed her hand on his cheek._

_ "That ye can, lass," he nodded and stared into her green eyes._

_ "I love you."_

_ Hector didn't respond. She looked embarrassed and rolled over onto her side, the scar on her back staring at him. He reached out and hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her into his chest._

* * *

I woke up hours later and found myself alone in the sheets. I thought I had just dreamed telling him that I loved him, but apparently I had actually done so. Mentally hitting myself, I sat up and tied my hair back into a fishtail braid that hung over my right shoulder.

I clothed myself as quick as I could and managed to tighten my corset just enough. Suddenly remembering that we were at war this day, I gulped and assembled my weapons on myself.

I had to see Hector again and tell him I didn't mean to say what I said. I couldn't have our potentially last moments together be made uncomfortable by my loose tongue.


	24. Hoist The Colors

** I opened the **door to my cabin and found all of our crew at the bow. An ostrich plume stuck out over the crowd and I was embarrassed to find that I was the last one outside.

The _Black Pearl_ was surrounded by the ships of the pirate lords. And as I stepped through to go over to Hector, I noticed a brig coming out of the fog.

"The enemy is here! Let's take them!" Marty shouted from the rigging.

The crew started cheering, jabbing their weapons in the air. I nearly lost an eye.

I saw Hector glance unemotionally back towards them, but he didn't see me. I tried to push through to get over to him, to no avail. Then I saw the rest of Beckett's armada pulling in behind the _Endeavour_.

Needless to say, the shouting died out.

"_Squaaawk!_ Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" Cotton's parrot took off. I couldn't blame it. To say we were outnumbered was putting it lightly.

Jack had called a parley. He, Elizabeth, and Hector set off to meet with Will, Beckett, and Davy Jones. I hadn't been able to say anything. I found myself pacing and wringing my hands.

"Keegan?" Gibbs clasped a hand on my shoulder and stopped me. "Is there something the matter?"

"Nothing I want to burden you with," I said. I mostly just didn't want to let him know that I'd bedded Hector and made everything uncomfortable.

"I can't say I'm not worried either," Gibbs looked up into the sky. "There's a shiver down me spine that says a storm is coming."

He walked off and I continued pacing, letting him think that I was only scared of dying. Finally, the longboat returned, only its occupants were Hector, Elizabeth, and Will. What had happened to Jack?

I came over and watched as Hector climbed up the ladder. He met my eyes and the angry look on his face softened a bit. I turned around and watched as Marty, Pintel, and Ragetti guided Tia Dalma, wrapped in rope, up to the main deck. Hector stood beside me and didn't say a word. I was about to open my mouth when Will and Elizabeth came to Hector's other side.

"We'll need to use the _Black Pearl_ as a flagship to lead the attack," Elizabeth said.

"Oh, will we now?" Hector asked smugly.

"Alright, Mrs. Fish. Come on," Pintel muttered.

"Barbossa, you can't release her," Will told him.

Three men of our crew came up behind the young man and cocked their guns.

"We need to give Jack a chance," Elizabeth said.

Hector wheeled around on her. "Apologies, _Your Majesty_. Too long my fate has not been in me own hands." He grabbed the Jade Captain's knot hanging from her neck and she glared at him, guns pointing at her head now as well. "No longer." He ripped it off her neck and walked away.

Will and Elizabeth looked at me and I pursed my lips. I followed Hector to the mast, where Tia Dalma was tied up. Pintel held the bowl full of pieces of eight. Hector reached out his arm and dropped in two items—Jack Sparrow's Siamese coin, and Sao Feng—I mean, Elizabeth's—Jade Captain knot.

"Be there some manner of rite or incantation?" Gibbs asked.

"Aye," Hector responded. He waved his fingers over the contents of the bowl. "The items brought together, done. Items to be burned…" He held out a hand and Ragetti handed him a torch. "And someone must speak the words: 'Calypso, I release you from your human bonds'." As he finished explaining, Gibbs poured rum from his flask into the bowl.

"Is that it?" Pintel wondered.

"'Tis said it must be spoken as if to a lover," Hector added.

I felt several pairs of eyes on me and I just felt like they all knew what had transpired last night.

"Ooh," Pintel smirked at me.

Hector held up the torch. "Calypso, I release you from your human bonds!" he bellowed, placing one end of the smoking torch into the bowl.

We all waited in anticipation, but nothing happened.

"'Sat how 'e talks to you?" Pintel muttered. I merely shook my head. He looked into the bowl. "Is _that_ it?"

"No, no, no," Ragetti interjected. Just then I noticed that he had an eye patch on. "'E didn't say it right."

Hector turned about expectantly.

"He didn't…" Ragetti glanced around as though for support. "You-You 'ave to say it right." His neck was twitching. But he turned and came closer to Tia Dalma. "C-Calypso…" he leaned into her ear, "…I release you from your human bonds."

Tia Dalma shuddered and the bowl lit on fire. We all stepped back, Hector pulling me behind him protectively. Pintel let go of said bowl, but it floated in the air. I could hear the pieces of eight burning. Tia Dalma started convulsing, then she leaned her head over the bowl and breathed the smoke in through her nose.

"Tia Dalma!" Will barged forward, but one of the men holding a gun to him grabbed his shoulder. "Calypso," he whispered beside me.

She snapped her brown eyes to him and then the bowl fell to the ground.

"When the Brethen Court first imprisoned you, who was it that told them how?" Will asked.

Calypso breathed out heavily and shakily.

"Who was it that betrayed you?" Will continued.

"Name him!" she grunted.

"Davy Jones."

She shook more and started to cry. Then her body started to grow. The men holding onto the ropes around her pulled tightly.

"_This_ is it!" Pintel pointed at her. "_This_ is it!"

She kept growing, pulling all the ropes to their limits, tearing some even as we backed away. She grew as tall as the mast.

"Calypso!" Hector let go of me and marched forward. He bowed and got on one knee. Everyone followed suit. "I come before you as but a servant, humble and contrite. I have fulfilled me vow and now ask yer favor. Spare meself, me ship, me crew…but unleash yer fury upon those who dare pretend themselves your masters…or mine."

Calypso smiled down on him at first. Then she angrily began to chant, "_Malfaiteur en Tombeau, Crochir l'Esplanade, Dans l'Fond d'l'eau!_" before she burst into millions of crabs that fell atop us.

Hector turned around and ran to me, covering me from the crustaceans until they bowled us over and we fell to the deck. The _Pearl_ shook violently and I worried we'd capsize it again, but then I realized the crabs were scuttling off the deck.

I stood up with the help of Hector and he continued to hold me close to him. Pintel whined as a crab attached itself to his nose and Ragetti jumped about, fishing one out of his pants.

"Is that it?" I asked.

Most of the crew ran over to the edge of the ship and looked over. Hector walked me with him and I stood next to Pintel.

"Why, she's no help at all," he said. Then he turned to his side and looked at Hector. "What now?"

Hector looked away from him and frowned. "Nothin'. Our final hope has failed us."

But then, one of our crewmen's hats flew off. The wind started gusting. We watched it fly up to the sky, where the clouds were beginning to darken. Our ship was creaking, ropes and rigs shaking.

"It's not over," Elizabeth said in a voice I could barely hear.

"There's still a fight to be had," Will told Gibbs.

"We've an _armada_ against us," Gibbs pointed out as Hector led me over to them, "and with the _Dutchman_, there's no chance."

"There's only a fool's chance," Elizabeth muttered.

"Revenge won't bring yer father back, Miss Swann, and it's not somethin' I'm intendin' to die for," Hector said.

She nodded and then turned to him. "You're right." Then she walked off and turned to him again. "Then what shall we die for?" She looked at the crew. "You will listen to me. LISTEN!" She climbed up onto the railing and held onto a line.

"The Brethren will still be looking here to us, to the _Black Pearl_ to lead. And what will they see? Frightened bilge rats aboard a derelict ship? No. No, they will see free men. And FREEDOM! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons. They will hear the ring of our swords, and they will know what we can do!" She paused and looked at Hector. "By the sweat of our brows, and the strengths of our backs…and the courage of our hearts. Gentlemen…" she nodded at me as if to acknowledge that I was not a man, "…hoist the colors."

Will bobbed his head. "Hoist the colors."

"Hoist the colors," Ragetti said.

"Hoist the colors!" Pintel shouted.

"Aye," Gibbs' eyes went wide. "The wind's on our side, boys. That's all we need!"

The crew all cheered and raised a weapon in the air.

Elizabeth hollered, "HOIST THE COLORS!" once more over her shoulder, and each ship did the same as ours. They cheered and set about raising their flags.

She got off the railing and went up to the aft deck. She stared out and Hector took me with him to join her up there. Will stood at her other side. I looked up and saw that the clouds were growing ever darker, twisting around in a spiral above our heads. Thunder began to rumble. And then the rain started to fall.

When the _Dutchman_ started to sail forward, so did we on the _Pearl_. Both of us ships sailing through the lightning towards a giant whirlpool between us.

"Maelstrom," I said to myself.

"MAELSTROM!" Gibbs yelled from the main deck.

"Captain Barbossa!" Elizabeth turned my attention to the starboard side where Hector stood by himself at the railing. I hadn't noticed he'd moved there. He seemed preoccupied. I hurried over to his side with Elizabeth and Will. "We need you at the helm!"

Hector turned to her. "Aye, that be true." And he went to relieve Cotton. "Brace up yards, yeh cack-handed deck apes! Dyin' is the day worth livin' for!"

"She's on our stern and gaining!" I exclaimed, watching as the _Flying Dutchman_ sailed right into the maelstrom.

"MORE SPEED! Haul your wind and hold yer water!" Hector ordered. He spun the helm fervently.

We had officially gone into the giant whirlpool, and then the _Dutchman_ started shooting cannonballs at us.

"Take us out!" Will came up to Hector. "Or they'll overbear us!"

"Nay! Further in! We'll cut across to faster waters!" Hector told him.

"PREPARE TO BROADSIDE!" Elizabeth roared.

Will ran down to the main deck to help ready our own cannons.

"Hector!" I came to his side and he looked at me. I grabbed his face and kissed him. "In case that was our last!"


	25. Reciprocity

** I stood with** Elizabeth at the railing and watched the _Dutchman_ on the other side of the maelstrom. We were waiting until we were board-and-board with it to start shooting.

"FIRE!" Hector yelled once we were.

"FIRE!" Elizabeth echoed.

And with that, cannons from both ships were going off. I watched as men from our crew ducked the fire.

"It be too late to alter course now, mateys!" Hector chortled.

I ran down to the main deck, hoping to be of assistance. Debris littered the floor and I tried my hardest not to trip and fall.

We had finally gotten close enough to the _Flying Dutchman_ that some of our men could swing across to the ship, and vice versa. I pulled out my sword and readied myself for a good fight. There was a mixture of Davy Jones' and Cutler Beckett's men that came over.

Jimmy Legs was the first to engage me. He swung his sword and I defended myself as well as I possibly could.

"Elizabeth!" Will shouted. He and his fiancée were fighting another together. Once they'd stabbed him and he slithered off, the young man came up to her. "Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

I carefully parried Jimmy Legs' blade from what could've easily cut my arm off. That was when I decided I should probably focus more on him than Will and Elizabeth.

"_I don't think now's the best time!_"

Jimmy Legs eventually grew bored of me and scuttled off. A crewman I didn't recognize took over before I had a moment to rest.

"_Now may be the _only_ time!_"

I ducked a mighty swing and waved my sword, chopping into his calf. I somersaulted away from the fish guts spilling out of his limb and fought one of Beckett's men near the capstan, where stood the Caribbean's finest lovers.

"_I love you_."

I disarmed the soldier quickly and stabbed him through the shoulder.

"_I've made my choice. What's yours?_"

"_Barbossa!_"

I broke my own rule and glanced over. Elizabeth was staring up at the aft deck, where Hector fought against three of Davy Jones' men at a time.

"Marry us!" Elizabeth told him.

"I'M A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT!" he roared.

I took it upon myself to run up the stairs and aid him and Cotton in the fight. I advanced on Koleniko and took his attention off the captain.

"_Barbossa, now!_"

He fought hard and ugly. There were a few close-calls that I managed to avoid.

"_FINE, THEN!"_

I looked up and saw that Hector was standing up on the helm. But then I had to concentrate solely on keeping my grasp on the handle of my sword and my blood underneath my skin.

"_Dearly beloved, we be gathered here today…_"

I stabbed into Koleniko's chest and pushed him off my blade. I ran towards another foe, but Koleniko latched onto my ankle and I fell to the floor.

"…_To nail yer gizzards to the mast, yeh poxy cur!_"

I flopped onto back and tried to kick him off, but his spiny hand wouldn't let go. Then Koleniko jumped over and onto my stomach. I squirmed under his body and then jabbed my blade into him again, kicking him off the sword.

"_As captain, I now pronounce you…_"

I got to my feet and targeted a soldier trying to get to Hector.

"_You may kiss…_"

I heard a gunshot and one of Hector's famous chortles. I turned to glance at him and saw him staring at me.

"No!" he grunted.

I looked back and my opponent was getting ready to swing at me, but Hector came over and disarmed him.

"_You may kiss…_"

Another of Davy Jones' crewmen engaged me in a fight and that was when I started to feel a little weak. My arms were sore, I was cold and wet. But I couldn't stop now.

"_Just kiss!_"

The crewman started backing me towards the stairway, but I didn't realize that until I tumbled down onto the main deck. I lay on my back atop the wet planks, struggling to breathe. My sword had been thrown from my hand and I looked to the side and saw it there several feet away. Once my wind came back to me, I got up and limped over to my weapon.

"Not so fast, dearie," growled a voice behind me. But before I could turn and see who had said that, I felt the all too familiar sting of a blade cutting into my back.

I cried out and fell to my knees. The immense pain ran from my left shoulder down to my right hip. I clawed my hands into the deck below me and felt hot tears falling out of my eyes. My corset had fallen off my waist and I could feel my shirt hanging down. The rain hit the open wound and I tried to gather enough strength to crawl away, even though it would do no good.

But before my attacker could deliver the fatal blow, I heard a slicing noise and then a loud _thump_, as if a heavy body had hit the floor.

I felt someone throw me over his shoulder and take me into the captain's quarters. I whimpered in pain as I was laid onto the emptiest part of the desk. My savior pushed most of whatever had been cluttering the desk onto the floor and laid me out properly.

I tried to think about who this was helping me. And only one name made sense, even though it belonged to someone who was just married a moment earlier.

"Will?" I gasped out.

He shut the door tightly and pushed something heavy in front of it. Then I heard him pick up a bottle and open it with a _pop_.

"This is going to hurt," he whispered.

I braced myself. My wound was splashed with something that made it burn. Of course, the bottle had been filled with rum. I screamed and clenched my fists tight.

A loose part of my shirt was torn off and used to clean out the gash and I kept crying through the pain.

"What are you looking for, Will," I murmured as he rummaged through the desk.

"I need to sew up the laceration. And my name is Henry."

I picked my eyes up from the desk underneath me and I looked to see a soldier going through the drawers. He was the one who recognized me from Port Royal.

"Why are you doing this?" I choked out.

"Save your strength, Miss Lynch," he said calmly, pulling out a needle from one of the drawers. "And I'm doing it for reciprocity. You allowed me to live. Now I must do the same."

If my body hadn't been stinging, I would've smiled at Henry. I watched as he dug around some more and finally found a small spool of thread.

He dipped the needle in whatever rum was left, threaded it, and then stood behind me. "I must warn you again—this will hurt."

Henry pinched my torn skin together and I shrieked. Then he shoved the needle through the skin, and that was the last thing I remembered.

* * *

_"She's takin' us down! Make quick or it's the Locker fer us all!" Hector shouted._

_ The masts of the _Black Pearl_ and the _Flying Dutchman_ were stuck to each other at the bottom of the maelstrom. Pintel and Ragetti turned a cannon upright and put a chain-shot in it. Gibbs lit it and the shot went into the sky to disconnect the two ships._

_ Hector turned the wheel as fast as he could and began to sail out of the whirlpool. He looked around the aft deck and saw some of his men fighting whoever had crossed-over. Then he turned his eyes to the main deck and saw more fighting, along with several bodies littered on the ground. There was a particularly gruesome beheading near the capstan._

_ Will and Elizabeth were nowhere to be seen, as they'd crossed over to the _Dutchman_ earlier. Hector hoped they'd be able to find their way to safety, or die quickly._

_ But what he was really looking for was the woman who'd expressed her love for him hours earlier. Where was Keegan? Had she gone to the _Dutchman_ as well? Was she below deck? Was she among the dead or dying?_

_ Hector felt his mouth go dry, despite the heavy rain. But he couldn't stop leading the ship to flat water. Once they reached the top, he'd begin looking._

_ Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sail flying while two figures held onto its lines, using the wind to guide it out of the maelstrom. The mechanism fell into the water and he gave the helm to Cotton._

_ Hector ran down the stairs and stormed the deck. Gibbs and some others were calling out to whatever figures had fallen into the ocean, but he couldn't pay them any more attention. He kicked over bodies, trying to find Keegan. But she was nowhere to be seen. He ran below deck, but only found the gunners._

_ "Where is she?" he bellowed at one._

_ Everyone shook their heads, and he felt his heart sinking. He checked in the holds, then rushed up the stairs and realized there was another area he hadn't looked. He opened the door to her cabin and only found her bed, its sheets disturbed from their dalliance the night before._

_ Gulping, Hector turned to the captain's quarters and hoped with every fiber of his being she was in there. On the ground nearby was her sword, abandoned and bloodstained. He picked it up and tucked it into his sheath. He grasped the handle of the door and turned it, but the door couldn't be pushed. Someone heavy was behind it. He slammed on the door, but gave up when nothing happened._

_ His heart was heavyand he slumped against the door for a moment. He decided he would try again later and he spun around on his heel. He went to Gibbs' side and watched as Elizabeth, his monkey, and Jack climbed up onto the deck. Once the latter was aboard, he started walking off and Gibbs followed him._

_ "Thank goodness, Jack. The armada's still out there. The _Endeavour_'s coming up hard to starboard, and I think it's time we embrace that oldest and noblest of pirate traditions," he said._

_ Hector, with his monkey perched faithfully on his shoulder, glanced at Elizabeth and saw that there was no emotion on her face. He could only assume that Will had died. He clasped a hand on her shoulder and then went over to the other captain._

_ "Never actually been one for tradition," Jack said before traveling to the railing to see Beckett's ship advancing on them. "Close haul 'er!" Jack marched across the deck. "Luff the sails an' lay 'er in irons!"_

_ "Belay that!" Hector countered. Jack whipped around to him. "Or we'll be a sittin' duck!"_

_ "Belay that 'belay that'!"_

_ "But captain—" Gibbs ventured._

_ "Belay!"_

_ "The armada—"_

_ "Belay!"_

_ "The _Endeav_—"_

_ "Stow! Shut it," Jack scampered up to the helm._

_ Hector followed him. He went to the railing and looked out at the ship in question. Jack came to his side. The _Endeavour_ had readied their cannons, and it seemed they were waiting to come upon them to shoot. But then the _Dutchman_ emerged from the depths, looking slightly different. She sailed over towards the _Pearl_. And she was under new authority._

_ "Ready on the guns!" Will Turner ordered._

_ "Full canvas!" Jack shouted._

_ "Aye, full canvas!" Hector echoed, taking back the helm._

_ Both ships turned to the _Endeavour_ and sailed to either side of the company ship._

_ "Cap'n!" Gibbs said._

_ "Fire," Jack commanded._

_ "FIRE!"_

_ "FIRE!"_

_ "FIRE!"_

_ "FIRE, ALL!"_

_ The air grew thick with smoke and the sounds of shooting cannons. The ship in the middle did nothing to retaliate. We continued to sail past it as it was set ablaze. It all but exploded and sank to the bottom of the ocean._

_ "THEY'RE TURNING AWAY!" Marty hollered._

_ The crewmen cheered and celebrated, but Hector went straight back down the stairs to the captain's quarters. He wouldn't give up until he searched the room._

* * *

I'M SO SORRY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG! I'VE BEEN WICKED BUSY


	26. Daddy's Boy

**_THUMP-THUMP! _****"KEEGAN! **KEEGAN!"

My eyes fluttered open. I could feel something being tied around my back.

"Henry?" I muttered as the large chest holding the door closed shook.

_THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! _"KEEGAN!"

"That's your name, is it not?" Henry asked, crouching beside my head.

"It is," I said.

"I believe the battle is over. Would you want me to open the door?" Henry asked.

"Aye," I nodded weakly.

Henry pulled the chest away just as the door was slammed on yet again. It swung open and I found Hector staring at me, just as he did the first time he laid eyes on me.

I gathered enough strength to sit up and realized that my sash had been wrapped around my body—the only thing covering the top half of me.

"Keegan," he gasped, stepping over and grabbing my arms. "I was afraid yeh'd…"

"Died?" I filled in. "I would've, if not for Henry."

Hector turned his head and locked eyes on the military man standing by the chest. "What happened?"

"One of my comrades cut her back open—which startlingly has already happened once. I killed him and took her in here," Henry explained.

"He saved my life," I reached out and placed my hands on Hector's chest.

"You, boy," Hector said to him. "My men won't be takin' kindly to seein' that coat aboard our ship. Ye can shed it and be one of us if ye wish."

"I'm afraid you don't owe me anything. I was already fulfilling a debt to Miss Lynch. We're square now. The only thing I wish is to go back to the _Endeavour_," Henry said.

"The _Endeavour_'s been sunk, boy. If any of yer men survived, they're in the ocean," Hector told him.

"Then I shall stay here," the young man nodded and took off his coat and tricorn.

"Henry," I said to him. "I…I don't know how to possibly thank you."

"There's no need to, Miss Lynch."

"Go on," Hector cocked his head towards the door. Henry took the hint and left us alone.

The captain lifted my chin with the crook of his finger and kissed me softly.

"I've been meaning to speak with you," I said. "What I said last night…I didn't mean to. I was caught up in the moment and it spilled out."

"There be but one reason I didn't say nothin' after that confession, lass. I haven't exactly had the best experiences with love. I've hardened meself the possibility that I could find it with another. And you, Miss Lynch, have given me somethin' I can never replace. Up 'til the moment I thought ye were dead, I couldn't find the courage in meself to tell ye that I love ye as well," Hector stroked my face.

I leaned up and filled in the space between our lips. My body, although still in great pain, was tingling. My stomach was aflutter and I felt tears pricking at my eyes.

We pulled away for breath and I watched as he took off his baldric and removed his frock coat. He put said coat gently around my shoulders and helped me to my feet. I leaned against him, still feeling very weak, and he guided me out onto the deck.

Elizabeth stood on the aft deck, staring out into the distance. I wondered where her husband was.

"Master Turner has taken command of the _Flying Dutchman_," Hector muttered in my ear.

"Will," I whispered. He must have been fatally wounded and had to stab Jones' heart. I never got to say goodbye…

Most of the surviving crew was preparing a longboat for the Pirate King. When Gibbs went to bring her to the longboat, we assembled in a line to receive her. Jack the Monkey climbed onto Hector's shoulder, which I was leaning against, and nuzzled my temple. I noticed two familiar faces dressed up as pirates.

"Murtogg and Mullroy?" I scrutinized them.

They both did a double-take.

"D'Artagnan?" Murtogg asked.

"You can speak?" Mullroy added.

"You're a _woman_?"

I managed a grin and turned back to Hector. We watched as Elizabeth came down to us. She looked at the man I was wrapped around.

"Mrs. _Turner_," he bowed his head at her.

She gave him a little smile, then she looked at me. I looked at her with sympathy and stepped forward to cup her cheek for a moment. She threw her arms around me and I winced in pain.

"Sorry," she muttered, letting me go.

I squeezed her shoulder and she ambled further down the line.

"Goodbye, poppet," Pintel said.

Mullroy nodded his head to her.

"Jack," Elizabeth said, stepping in front of the captain. "It would never have worked out between us."

I grinned again and leaned against Hector's arm.

"Keep telling yourself that, darling," Jack smirked. She went to hug him, as she did me, but he held his hands out to stop her. "Once was quite enough."

"Thank you."

And then Elizabeth got in the boat and rowed away.

* * *

I stood at the railing, crossing the lapels of Hector's coat so it covered me more. It smelled strongly of him and I couldn't help but smile.

"Miss Keegan, I do believe it has been a long time since you and I, and I and you have spoken," Jack came to my side.

"That's very true. Everything has changed," I said.

"Indeed it has."

We were silent for a moment.

"Your father mentioned you told him about me," I cocked a brow at Jack.

"It's not every day you find a beautiful young woman practicing swordsmanship in Tortuga. Even rarer so that she happens to be the daughter of Leave 'Em in Ash," he commented.

"As their sole daughter, I would agree that it's quite rare," I grinned. "And I wish to thank you, Jack. Had you not corrected my form that day, I fear my life would've been quite boring."

"It was my pleasure to've had you in my crew," Jack bowed a little.

I smiled wistfully and saw him staring up at the aft deck, where stood Hector with his spyglass out.

"I'll ask but once more, Miss Keegan. You're sure you're not ill?" he asked, almost looking hopeful.

"If I am, I'd lament being cured," I told him. "I love Hector, and he loves me."

"I see, darling," Jack placed a kiss on my forehead and walked off.

I sighed and decided to climb the stairs to the aft deck. I went over to Hector and slid between him and the railing, ducking under the spyglass. He put it away and grabbed my arms.

"While yeh do look quite fine in the coat, I'll be needin' it back at some juncture," he told me.

"As soon as I find something to wear, this will be wrapped around your shoulders again," I responded.

"Then I suppose we're lucky to be headin' fer Tortuga," he stroked my hair.

I leaned forward and put my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Hector carefully held me to him.

"Miss Lynch," said a voice coming up the stairs. I looked and saw Henry. "I would strongly advise you get as much rest as possible."

I didn't want to leave Hector's arms, but he released me. "I'll find ye soon enough."

I squeezed his hand and followed Henry back down the stairway. I felt Hector's eyes on me, and I fought the urge to return the gaze. I went to my cabin and shed the coat, placing it on my desk. I crawled into my bed and lay on my stomach, falling asleep faster than usual.

* * *

Hector had aided me into a new poet shirt. He tucked a few extra shirts and corsets into my cabin on the ship and met me at the Faithful Bride. Most of our crew were in there, drinking and entertaining prostitutes.

"Are ye in much pain?" Hector asked, covering my hand on the table. We were sitting right where we'd made the deal with Ardan all those months ago.

"Aye. But it reminds me that I'm alive," I told him.

"A fact that makes me swell with joy," he took my hand and kissed my knuckles.

"I love you, Hector," I beamed.

"And I you, Keegan."

"So, what's your plan?" I wondered.

Hector glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot. "I've taken the navigational charts. There be one leads to the Fountain of Youth, and I would much enjoy you and I to drink from it."

"And I suppose Jack isn't aware of this," I said.

"I'm takin' back me ship."

I glanced over at the dreadlocked man who sat at a far table with both Scarlett and Giselle. "The very ship I helped him take from you so long ago."

"I do have yer support, don't I?" Hector squeezed my hand.

I gulped. "Aye, that you do."

"What be the matter, lass?"

"I owe Jack so much. He taught me everything I know. Trusted me for so long," I said.

"This be the start of a new life. A life with me, Keegan, out on the sea. Pirate's in yer blood. Yeh owe Sparrow nothin'," he told me.

I nodded. "More likely than not, he'll spend the night with one, or both, of those ladies of the night. Gibbs will imbibe until he's thrown out of this place. He might end up at our house, in the pigsty, or anywhere else."

"We'll gather the crew and leave Tortuga in the morn."

* * *

I'd slept fitfully in Hector's arms the night before, and I realized that I felt worse about leaving Gibbs than I did leaving Jack. I wanted to be able to say goodbye. The man had raised me and now it was time for me to leave him for the one I loved.

Hector allowed me to search for him before we returned to the _Black Pearl_. He wasn't among the drunkards asleep in the tavern, nor was he with the pigs. I was about to give up when I found him snoring on the dock, a toy bear in his arms. I crouched beside him and placed a small bit of parchment in the crook of his elbow. All it said was goodbye, and that I hoped I'd see him again. I kissed his forehead and climbed the gangplank, feeling a lot better.

"ALL MEN UP THE RATLINES!"

"All men up the ratlines!

I stood on the aft deck with Hector and his monkey. We were far enough into the water that Tortuga was but the size of my thumb.

"Oh, you want a taste of this?" Hector picked up a peanut and fed it to his chirping monkey. "Oh, that's a good boy. Yeh're daddy's boy. Oh, yes, you are. Oh, yes, you are."

I couldn't help but smile at the sight. Jack gave him such pleasure. It really warmed my heart.

"Sir?"

We whipped around and saw Pintel, Ragetti, Marty, Murtogg, and Mullroy as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Some of the men don't feel entirely set'led about leavin' Cap'n Jack be'ind," Pintel continued.

"Again," Ragetti whispered in his ear.

"Again," Pintel added.

"Is that so?" Hector asked in a dangerous-sounding voice.

"It would make us feel a whole lot bet'er regardin' our fortunes if we could see that item yeh told us about."

"On the charts," Marty specified.

"Aye," Murtogg and Mullroy said together.

"Wiv our own eyes," Pintel said.

"To 'elp put an ease to our burden of guilt, so to speak," Ragetti finished.

"Ah," Hector reached behind him and grabbed the rolled-up charts on the table his monkey sat at. "Feast yer eyes upon this, mateys. There's more than one way to live forever. Gents, I give yeh the Fountain of Youth."

He unrolled the charts and held it up. Someone had cut out the middle—the only important part of it. Hector looked at the border with annoyance.

"Sparra."


End file.
